


Shiny Knives

by M340857



Category: Firefly, The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28461333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M340857/pseuds/M340857
Summary: Riddick was only planning on having a drink, getting the lay of this new Verse, he didn’t expect the spar of his life. Post Serenity/Post Riddick (2013) setting.
Relationships: Richard B. Riddick/River Tam
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	Shiny Knives

Shiny Knives

Post Serenity/Post Riddick (2013) setting.

Summary: Riddick was only planning on having a drink, getting the lay of this new Verse, he didn’t expect the spar of his life.

Disclaimer: I don’t own either of the Firefly/Serenity or Pitch Black/Riddick properties.

Business concluded, Mal moved to tell Jayne to finish up his drink and get ready to collect the Lil ‘Tross and head on back to the ship. Never did like getting less than half payment at the beginning of a job.

That’s when he heard the distinct and memorable sound of bodies clashing. Fist hitting muscle, hitting bone. The bar they were in was all brown wood, with large carved panels partly screening off several private seating sections and the main bar area. Ornate, wooden gates with stout trunk like columns marked the joining walkways. The sunlight that poured in lit the small motes of dust swirling in the air. Mal whipped his head around to see, with a sinking feeling, a repeat of what he feared.

Lil ‘Tross had gone off again. Mal watched her spin a kick at some dark haired, scruffy bearded man in goggles who looked to block it with his arm. He heard Jayne let out a colorful string of curses beside him, drink now forgotten. By now, the other patrons of the bar had noticed the commotion and were moving away towards the perimeter and making their way past the last wooden gate to the gun and personal effects lockers.

He moved to head there himself, keeping an eye on his pilot through the gaps in the wooden panels. Mal mentally tried to think back to the words that Simon had insisted teaching him in order to de-trigger River. The Operative said that the Alliance wouldn’t be trying this technique to find her; that they had bigger fish to fry. As he emerged into the open area, Mal noticed with a grim look the lone and nearly invisible video screen was dimly lighting up a dark alcove he hadn’t even glimpsed when they walked in. Gorram it.

She was still a flurry of movement, kicking, throwing punches, and to Mal’s surprise her opponent was moving equally fast. He saw a blur of a face and recognized the goggled visage from before.

“What in the...” That same man from before had been fighting her this whole time? The last time River had gone off like this she knocked out a dozen men in the same amount of time that these two had been fighting and they were still at it.

And this man, this goggle wearer. Goggler. This Goggler, he didn’t fight like an operative nor any gorram Alliance fighter he’d seen. Hell, Mal had never seen anyone fight like this.

River swung a chair at the Goggler’s head. He blocked with his arm, while surging forward at her. She dodged, jumped at him and started to try to climb up his torso. He grabbed her by the leg and with a low growl threw her towards a nearby partition wall. The remaining people started to run, panicked screaming. River twisted mid-air and landed sideways on the wall: kicking off she used her momentum to aim a kick at the side of the head of the Goggler.

“Mal!”

He turned to Jayne, who was holding out his piece to him. Jayne’s eyes were wide.

Mal grabbed his gun, and looked back at the fight. He heard the Goggler darkly chuckle as River picked up a discarded knife from one of the bar’s tables. Before he could blink, he saw his Lil ‘Tross and this strange man fighting with what looked like a knife and fork each. The flashes and dodges, and was the Goggler smiling? How in the Verse was he able to fight her with her reading him?

Jayne stayed back, remembering how if felt to try and stop River when she was in such a state. Mal decided this had gone long enough. No good if his pilot got sliced and diced. He marched up behind the Goggler and pointed his piece at his head. He clicked off the safety. Mal thought he might have seen the man twitch at the sound. Good, pay attention to me, not her. The Goggler was a few feet away from River.

“Eta Kooram Nah Smech!” Mal declared loudly.

His Lil ‘Tross crumpled, just like last time. However, the Goggler ignored the gun to his head and leapt forward, catching River before she hit the ground. His arms held her, one arm below her knees that just a few minutes ago were aimed at his head. He cradled her head with his other arm. Her arms were crumbled in her lap.

The Goggler turned silently to Mal. It was then that Mal realized the bar was nearly completely empty. The moment seemed to go on forever. Mal was staring at this man, goggles obscuring his eyes, while Mal held his piece right at him. He hadn’t seen a body move like that. Why catch her?

“Mal, we got bad news. Real bad.”

“What?” Mal asked Jayne without taking his eyes off the man holding his pilot. He didn’t need this.

“Alliance troops, on the way. We got to move.” Jayne hugged his large gun close, his other weapons strapped and secured around his body.

Mal let off a swear as he lowered his gun. “We’ve got to get to the ship.”

“Then let’s go.” The low gravelly voice of the Goggler shocked Mal. The man’s dark scruffy hair and face didn’t have any sign of sweat of the excursion from the fight. Mal watched for a moment, noticing how the Goggler’s head was in his direction, but was noticeable titled towards River. Mal made a decision.

“Jayne, you cover us, I’ll take point. You? Follow us. That there is an important member of my crew. Take mighty fine care.”

The Goggler didn’t even seem to need to shift the burden in his arms, he just turned and jogged up towards Jayne. As he passed, Jayne started moving with a ‘Are you gorram kidding me?’ face on. Mal grimaced and got a move on as well. There wasn’t much choice. They needed to be able act if needed and carrying her, even as light as she was, would have taken a gun arm away.

They exited the bar, Mal took point and began making their way to the docks and Serenity. The Goggler jogged slightly behind him. Jayne made quick time behind, turning back to check for any followers or pursuers.

Jayne noticed that he could barely see any of River’s body behind the man. He must’a been carrying her in such a way to avoid being seen. Pretty clever, but uncomfortable as hell. Better him than me.

They kept a move on. Mal turned back now and then to make sure they were still doing good, no shots were heard, no one chasing after them. The Goggler was always right behind him, breathing easy.

They saw Serenity, the final step to the cargo bay seemed like a grand leap. Mal went for the buzzer immediately.

“Kaylee, we’re back! Ready the engines for immediate burn!”

“On it Cap.” His trusted mechanic ready to follow his command.

Mal turned and was pleased to see that Jayne had shut the cargo bay doors. “Jayne, show him to the infirmary and find Simon!” Mal jogged to the pilot chair. Time to get his boat outta here.

Jayne clenched his teeth and gripped his gun firmly. The stranger, his goggles reflecting the cargo bay lights, looked impassive. There was a beat pause.

“Come on, let’s get her to the infirmary.” Jayne said wearily.

With no response from the stranger, Jayne turned and started his way up the stairs and through the winding ship. Simon met them as they were coming through the kitchen.

“Jayne! What’s happened?” Simon’s voice louder than normal with worry. Though River looked fine physically, the potential mental anguish was always on his mind. He couldn’t forget those first difficult months, before Miranda and River gaining some equilibrium. He followed behind the other man, barely noticing him.

“Lil bit went crazy at a TV. Mal had to use the words.” Jayne didn’t even look back, and led on to the infirmary.

“Hold on!” Mal’s voice rang out over the intercom. The ship apparently had to do some interesting maneuvers. Simon was grabbed on to a pipe along the wall as the floor violently titled suddenly. The stranger simply moved with the shifting floor. Simon looked to his sister and saw that her head wasn’t even jostled by the movement. This man was keeping his balance and keeping her perfectly steady.

Jayne wordlessly gestured to the infirmary and walked off to secure himself for leaving atmo. He’d done his job.

“Please, put her down here. Thank you.” Simon indicated the left bed. He watched this stranger, ‘With goggles on?’, gently set his sister down. He took care with her hair, to not pin it under her limp body. Simon nodded his regards.

Simon quickly moved to check River’s vitals. He muttered some medical data he was collecting off and sighed with relief that everything was within normal parameters. He check her over for any visible injuries and other than some light bruising on her arms and shins, he didn’t find anything that appeared life threatening. He would have to ask her when she woke up if there were any hidden ailments, such as bruised ribs and the like. Simon sighed to himself.

“She gonna wake up soon?” The serious and goggled visage on the man’s face looked in Simon’s direction. Eyes unseen. The stranger’s deep voice, so unlike the rest of the crew’s, startled Simon, who bashfully forgot he was even there, observing.

“Yes, this has happened before. She’ll be unconscious for several hours.” His voice had the crisp exactness of a trained physician speaking professionally. The ships violent movement had ceased.

“Doc! Is she okay?” Kaylee bounced in the room, her face concerned. She sat down on the bed next to River’s and placed a hand on her leg. She looked up at Simon.

“Yes. It appears she was triggered again.” Simon frowned at his sister and sighed, wondering at why the Alliance was still apparently trying to get to her.

“When she came in, she was normal like: relaxed, curious. Then she was watching some commercial. Saw her posture change, her facial expression went cold.” The stranger’s voice was steady, deep and gravely. His arms crossed in front of his chest over his black and brown layered clothes.

“Did she say anything? How many people did she attack?” Simon rapidly asked.

“Nah. Just knocked out one guy and then her and I had a fun time.” The stranger smirked at that, looking down at River.

“What? Last time this happened… What do you mean by fun?” Simon felt his stomach drop, a deep pit of worry forming. River had incapacitated dozens of grown men, many of which were taller and stronger looking than this strange man, in just a few minutes last time she was triggered. Not to mention the time with the Reavers. How long had the fight gone on? Had he hurt her?

“Hadn’t ever sparred with anyone like that before.”

“Spar? You fought with her? Did she hurt you?” Simon’s Hippocratic Oath rose to the surface of his thoughts. He looked the stranger over for any bleeding or bruising. Nothing in his stance suggested anything of note.

“Ain’t like I haven’t had worse, doc.” The stranger sounded dismissive.

“Do you recall any hits or blows that may have injured her?” Simon pressed.

“Barely got any in.” The stranger shrugged.

Simon frowned and turned to look at Kaylee. She stood up and walked over to him. She rested her hand comfortingly on his upper arm. He sighed, slightly relaxing. She always knew how to console him.

“Thank you very much for carrying her back to the ship.” Simon looked down at his sister after he spoke.

“That was real kind of you. But, it’s best we talk to the Captain next. We’re in the black now, so if you’ve left any of your stuff planet-side, we’re real sorry.” Kaylee explained.

The stranger shrugged and lowered his arms to his sides. “I’ve got everything I need on me.” His whole method of travel had been one ship after another, no baggage, anyhow.

“Well let me go see about starting the meal. After lunch I’ll ask the Cap and see about getting you a guest bunk to tidy up in.” Kaylee smiled reassuringly. She looked over at Simon who nodded at her with a smile.

The stranger briefly watched Kaylee leave and turned back to the resting woman lying on the infirmary bed.

Simon watched him for a few minutes out of the corner of his eye while he arranged the medical instruments he used. Then he started to slowly rearrange a drawer of instruments. The strange man was silent, his eyes’ direction and movement hidden from view.

“We’ll all be meeting in the kitchen to discuss what our next step is going to be. Here, let me show you.” Simon for one did not feel that is was a good idea to leave this intense stranger alone with his sister, and secondly he felt that for whatever reason, there was a need to separate the two. Perhaps it was the nonchalant way he discussed the fight with River as ‘fun.’ Jayne was still frightened of River after brawling with her while she was triggered. And how could a stranger know his sister’s limits? Her needs?

The stranger nodded, his head lingering in the direction of the infirmary as he followed Simon down the passage of the ship. The bright lights leaving a slowly dimming reflection in his goggles.

777777

Mal let out a sigh of relief, they had maneuvered their way into the black, hitting a ghost lane on the way to Beggar's Tin, a small rim outpost moon. They had made friends there; they could rest and refuel and figure out what the hell was going on. He set the ship to auto-pilot and went off the gather the crew. He found Simon and Kaylee in the kitchen, making lunch while the Goggler was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs.

Mal nodded at the Goggler and moved to the intercom to announce a crew meeting.

“Kaylee, that smells mighty fine.” Mal complimented the cooking protein smells wafting in from the kitchen area. He was very happy that she had taken upon herself to assist Simon on his cooking duties.

“Aw, thanks Captain. Simon cooked most of it!” Kaylee happily chirped.

Mal let out an involuntary shudder at the memory of what Simon’s ‘cooking’ could do to food. Zoe and Jayne came from their crew quarters. His first mate looked slightly pensive at this potentially dangerous newcomer and he watched her appraising eye rake over the Goggler. He remembered how she felt about facial hair, and this Goggler had some in spades. Jayne grinned as he sat down, pleased about the idea of food.

Inara swept through the passage from her shuttle, her graceful steps quiet and her beautiful Companion robes not touching the ground. Mal thought she was awfully red today. Pretty as always, but very red.

“How is our little Albatross doc?” Mal turned to Simon as he and Kaylee brought over the large bowls of food and plates. Simon had removed the off-white cooking apron that Kaylee thought was charming.

“She’s resting. She’ll be out for several hours. She doesn’t appear to be hurt.” Simon went back to the kitchen area to fetch silverware. Mal nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face. That could have gone much, much worse. No one even got shot.

“Well, let dig in and get to introductions after.” Mal served up a plate and passed it to Zoe on his side. They served up the grub and chowed down. Mal noticed the Goggler waiting until other people started eating before taking up a bite.

Mal explained that the ship was heading towards Beggar's Tin, to which the Goggler just nodded his acceptance. Emergency situation and all.

The crew was eying the stranger, with his goggles obstructing his eyes, while they ate. As they finished they mostly turned to Mal, with the exception of Inara who was watching the stranger closely.

“Alright, firstly I want to thank you for helping us with our crewmate. Made it possible to get back to the ship right quick. I’m Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of this here ship. People call me Mal. Here’s my first mate Zoe Washburne.” He gestured to Zoe who nodded.

“This here is Jayne Cobb, and our mechanic Kaylee Frye.” Jayne narrowed his eyes slightly at the stranger, slouching in his seat, legs splayed. Kaylee gave a friendly wave beside Simon.

“This is our ship’s doctor, and Inara Serra.” Simon nodded. Inara gave a professional smile.

“Who might you be?” Mal leaned forward.

“Riddick.” The stranger said, his voice deep. Those who had not heard him speak before were a little startled. His voice was deeper than expected and had a rumble to the cadence. Inara and Zoe did not allow the surprise to show much on their faces, but a slight body movement betrayed them.

“Is that first or last?” Mal pressed. He wanted to know exactly who was on his boat.

“Richard B. Riddick. Go by Riddick.”

Mal and Zoe glanced at each other. Folks that went by their last name were usually ex-military. Not always, but it was worrisome.

“Cap, I was telling Riddick that we could set him up with a guest bunk to clean up.” Kaylee said. She paused after Riddick’s name, as to check that she pronounced it correctly. She looked at Mal with puppy dog eyes, as if to say ‘I did alright, right Cap?’

“Good idea Kaylee. He did us a good turn by helping us out. Why don’t you show him to the starboard one?” Mal jerked his head to indicate the one he was thinking of. The one furthest from the kitchen. Get a little privacy to discuss things. Kaylee stood up and nodded. The Goggler, scratch that, Riddick stood up as well and ambled to follow Kaylee.

The crew sat in silence, with only Simon collecting the plates and used utensils to put in the sink.

Kaylee came back and sat down with a big smile, her hair gently swaying. “He looked alright with the bunk. I gave him the spiel of what’s available and what’s off limits.” Mal nodded his thanks.

“Anyone heard of a Riddick?” asked Mal. A chorus of ‘Nahs’ and negative answers rang out from the crew.

“Jayne, you saw him fighting River. Recognize the style? He ain’t Alliance.”

“Nah, Mal. Never saw nobody move like that. All that quick lunging. He was like an animal or something.”

7777777

Riddick sat in his bunk, the door cracked slightly open. They hadn’t heard of him in this sector of the galaxy. Good. Not a merc ship either. Animal indeed. He smirked.

In the near darkness, he removed his goggles. He rubbed a hand over his temples and forehead, where the straps had dug in leaving light red marks.

He moved to the small sink and mirror and grabbed one of his shivs. He had lost one in the fight earlier, but always had extras. He had been without assurance that he was unknown in these parts, resistant to giving his real name out. The hair and beard were insurance that he’d be hard to track. He hadn’t had a reason to shave in quite a while. Nor the opportunity.

But damn didn’t he meet someone beautiful today. Exceedingly so.

She grabbed his attention as soon as she walked in. The dark haired lean woman, curiosity and mischief glinting in her dark eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen something beautiful, out there in the black, jumping from ship to ship, planet to planet. But he wasn’t planning on approaching her, not with the company she was keeping.

Then she had changed. Triggered, they called it. He almost frowned when he smelled her scent change, a strong mechanical metal smell as the base note came forth. When she backhanded the nearest fella to her and knocked him out, Riddick almost chuckled. He had to see what she was about. All bluster, or what?

And then they danced around each other, testing. At first, she kept getting through his defenses. Kept avoiding his attacks. It enraged him. The animal part of his brain, his mind, took over after several minutes and he moved without planning. He just let himself react, without thinking. She adapted fairly well, but while she was faster, he was stronger.

The way she had bounced off the wall and come right back at him made him grin like a madman. Damn, she could fight! He never was able to move this way with anyone, not without them trying to kill him. She was just aiming to disable. He felt that he could finally let himself go, feel the flow of the dance. Be challenged. No need to pull his punches, or slow down his attacks either.

When they got to the knife fight part, he was looking at her like she was some kind of sweet water in the desert. The flashes and clashes made him only want to move faster, to see what she could do. However, a gun click stopped him. Riddick hadn’t noticed someone coming up behind him, in his pure joy of the consuming fight.

He remembered pausing, and then hearing a foreign phrase from the gun man behind him. He saw her, this beautiful warrior, unstoppable by even him, start to collapse. Her dark eyes rolling up. Her hair, previously swirling around her in a nearly dizzying effect, limply falling. He swiftly moved to catch her, lest she injure herself falling to the bar floor.

She felt so light in his arms, so small in the sleep state she was forced into. He turned to the gun man, saw fluffy darkish hair and a long coat. The gun was still pointed at him. Without taking his eyes off him, the gun man spoke to a second man. Smart. The second man was strapping on a number of guns in various sizes speedily. He watched them chat, mentioning an Alliance force on their way and a nearby ship.

He was looking down at her, every so slightly. Riddick knew it was stupid as hell. But he couldn’t let this woman go. Who was she to fight like that? To match his moves? To actually keep up to his speed and in some ways surpass him? He had to know more.

He suggested get a move on. The long coat, just now addressed as ‘Mal’, gave out orders. They jogged off.

Riddick got the impression that the Alliance troops, those controlling bastards, were here for her. He minutely shifted her so that she would be better protected from any stray shots. Snipers and the like. He also echoed Mal’s body positioning, using him as an impromptu body shield, if needs be.

He could not let her get hurt. Not before he could figure out what the hell was going on. Was she like him? Was she something else?

The ship wasn’t one he was familiar with, but he had gotten used to that in this part of the galaxy. This Verse as they called it.

He kept her safe and still as they made their way into the ship, and to the infirmary. He put her down, softly, gently. She looked so different from the artificial blank face she possessed during their fight. Her face relaxed. The metallic smell was fading, leaving what he assumed was her normal scent. Unique combination. Distinct. Similar to what he had noted when she walked in to the bar earlier. The other woman who came in smelled like oil and warm machines: a mechanic.

He answered some of the doc’s questions. He noticed that the doc and the sleeping woman were likely related. Similar faces, hair, smells, and postures. The thumbs and ring fingers especially indicated shared genetics. A brother, cousin or other direct family relation, likely.

The scent that he supposed he would now associate with her being triggered had completely left her by the time Simon had directed him to join him in the kitchen. Simon had a worried state to him, worried for the sleeping woman, and worried about him too.

The rest of the crew didn’t interest him much. The captain and his first mate, Zoe, were ex-military of some sort. She was also in a long coat. Riddick didn’t know what sort of wars they had out here, but they were not fans of the Alliance.

Kaylee and the unnamed doctor were mostly harmless. Jayne and the Inara woman had more potential to be dangerous. Inara, the one they had not called out as a Companion but obviously was one, was the sort of manipulative woman he loathed to interact with or be around. The smile doesn’t reach the eyes. Jayne moved like a merc, a piece still strapped to his thigh.

The bunk had its own small bathroom, a luxury in his travels. He could hear them talking about him. Then, dismissing him as a non threat, they moved on to figuring out why she had been triggered. Were they still hunting her?

Why would the Alliance be hunting a petite woman of maybe 20? But then how did she know how to fight like that? And what about the trigger? Ain’t never heard of that type of thing before.

But he did know that he wanted to meet her proper. Maybe they could even fight again. Riddick had a small half smirk as he moved to shaving another part of his scalp.

777777

“Captain, I have some questions about the fight. Riddick mentioned that she took down only one other man before engaging him. Is that true?” Simon was keen to figure out why this trigger event had gone differently. Was she in more control? Were the triggers wearing off?

“Well I didn’t rightly see the beginning. I heard it and then the crowd started moving away.” Mal stroked his chin.

“Yeah, people started moving the hell away from those two. Spinning and kicking and leaping and all sorts of crazy stuff.” Jayne looked vaguely worried at the memory. He still remembered how hard River had hit when she attacked him last time.

“How long were they fighting? Was she triggered the same amount of time as the last time?” Simon leaned in, Kaylee gently rubbed his back.

Mal rubbed his chin again, frowning. “Much longer, maybe three times as long, than last time. Long enough for the bar to completely empty.”

“And he kept up with her the whole time?” Simon’s voice raised in astonishment.

“Seemed like an even fight. Jayne and I got our pieces from the locker and when looked back they had begun a knife fight. Well, knife-fork I reckon.”

“A knife fight?” Simon’s voice was panicked.

“Yeah doc, you should have seen ‘em. He was grinning at her like she was the best thing since sliced bread.”

“Jayne’s right. He was smiling. Damn unnerving. And they moved like a whirlwind of blades. Neither one getting through. You didn’t see any cuts on ‘em, right Doc?”

Simon was aghast. His mouth ajar in surprise. He shut it with a thoughtful thump. He frowned, his brow deeply furrowed as he contemplated his sister knife fighting with someone while triggered, yet neither one had any signs of cuts. His face slowly relaxed and he shook his head no.

“That doesn’t mean River wasn’t injured in some way.” Simon glared at the Captain, their long standing disagreement on how much involvement River should have on jobs paramount in his mind. “I’ll have to wait until she wakes up and ask if she has any bruises or non-obvious injuries. Captain, when can we get this man off the ship?” Simon asked intently.

“Well now, wait there a tick. This Riddick fellow was able to fight your baby sister to a stand still. Only injured one other. Could have been a whole lot worse without his help in keeping her occupied. Also, we may have had a hell of time getting her home to the ship with just the two of us.”

“Captain,” Zoe interjected before Simon could respond, “I appreciate what he’s done to help us. What exactly are you suggesting we do with him, Sir?”

“Well, depends on him. We’ve got 5 days before we hit Beggar’s Tin. If he’s on his best behavior, and maybe has some useful skills, ‘sides fighting like the devil’s own, then we can figure something out. If he wants to be on his way, we can drop him off. And if he’s dangerous, we can just shoot him or space him.” Mal nodded to himself as he finished speaking. The crew knew this was their stubborn captain putting down the law.

“Besides, she can read him when she wakes up!” Kaylee chipped in.

“Very true. We’ll see what our little ‘Tross has to say about him.” Mal nodded again. Zoe looked doubtful, and the two made their way to the bridge. Mal to adjust the heading slightly and Zoe to discuss with her captain this dubious course of action. Her shoes thunked on the metal stairs as she followed him up, already voicing her protests to come.

Inara was thoughtful, but relatively unconcerned. She headed back to her shuttle. She had some waves to answer, and some business to try to arrange. Jayne felt vaguely ill at ease and decided to do some gun cleaning and maintenance.

Kaylee gave Simon a half hug. He still looked disturbed by the news had heard earlier. He gave her a grateful smile and a light kiss on the temple. She started on her way back to the engine room. At the sound of the her departing footsteps he rose from his chair and gave a smile in her direction, heading toward the infirmary to monitor River’s vitals. And make sure she was comfortably alone.

The former convict, murderer, Lord Commander and fugitive Richard B. Riddick’s bunk door quietly clicked shut. He moved back to the bed to sit.

In the complete darkness, he closed his eyes, and contemplated what he had heard. For now, he was undecided about anything other than talking to this woman. This River, her brother had called her. This reader.

Reader, he postulated, like the quasi-dead mind readers the Necromongers had used on him. The ones who saw his secrets and exposed his past to the former Lord Commander. When they entered his mind he felt it, the pain. Like ripping thoughts from his mind. If she was reading him during their bar fight, she was a damn lighter touch. A different sort perhaps. Interesting.

777777

The dim lights of the infirmary were River’s first indicators that she was on the ship, that it was now night, and that the events at the bar really did occur. Real occurrences-- grounding her. This she knew without reading anything from anyone. Simon was awake, bustling around, fighting sleep. Kaylee was drowsing with her arm leaning on River’s leg, her head on her arm.

“Simon?”

“Mei-Mei? How do you feel? Any pain?” Simon hurried over and loudly whispered, involuntarily waking Kaylee. It was 200 hours. She looked confused, but shook the hair out of her face and gave a bright relieved smile to River.

“I’m alright. No pain.“ River tilted her head while she analyzed her body feelings, “Leg soreness. Nothing of import.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re okay.” Simon reached down and hugged her. “What do you remember happening?”

“Interesting carvings, a sort of Norse influence. Then… The commercial. Lost. Swept away. One down, next one up. No power in the Verse can stop me.” Her face confident and fierce. Then it shifted to puzzlement, “Stopped me?” Her face looked concerned, “Face hidden, goggles. The Goggler. Then Mal used the words.” Her eyes were distant, looking through the wall she was facing.

“River, I am so glad you’re alright. Mal told us he, Riddick that is, caught you when you collapsed and carried you in his arms all the way back to the ship, jogging all the while, apparently.” Kaylee looked like she may have found it to be a sweet gesture, fairy-tale like.

“Yes, well, it’s quite late. Let’s head to bed. I’ll let the Captain know you’ll need to sleep in a bit tomorrow. He'll want to know what you pick up from the man.” Simon moved to help River stand from the infirmary bed, his hand reaching out to grasp hers. They had discussed the medications; he wasn’t going to ask verbally. He knew to trust her that she would tell him she needed them if she did. She had improved so much in that respect.

Part of River wanted to snap that she had been sleeping enough lately. Years after Miranda, and she was finally on less of a drug cocktail than before. No more sleeping! She needed to be awake. Her mind was ready. She could handle this. She was truly alright.

Knowing that would have a counter effect and Simon was vigilant of any signs of mental instability, she simply nodded with a small smile and let him help her up. She gave Kaylee a big hug before waving goodnight.

She stood before her bunk door, having slipped off her shoes and thrown them inside, waiting for the answering click of Kaylee and Simon’s bunk to shut for the night. She swiftly moved towards one of her favorite duct openings, the one she could kick off only one wall to reach, rather than the others involved more complex aerobatics. The most laborious one was in one of the bunks, and involved a wall kick off, multiple bounces on hallway walls, and a pipe swing to reach.

While she particularly enjoyed the physical challenge, River was more interested in the sort of calculations that were necessary when the ship was in motion. Like the second half of that fight with that man. That fight was surprising, both in retrospect and in the moment even when she was not quite herself. The trigger was to render opponents incapacitated. She usually tried to go towards gentle unconsciousness at first.

That man, ‘Riddick’-- Kaylee had supplied the name. After a while he moved with no forethought, nothing to pick up. No feelings to guide her. She found herself having to constantly recalculate, reevaluate her moves and her plans. She had to react to his movements, real time. All her tactical skills come out to play. As fogged as her mind had been with the compulsion, part of her had enjoyed letting her skills be fully utilized and practiced. Like stretching a limb all the way out after having it confined in a small, cramped space.

She moved gracefully through the vent ducts, her legs and arms propelling her soundlessly. Her regular route had her check on each of her crewmates, to observe that they were alive and well and dreaming softly. She was heading towards the passenger bunks to see what she could glimpse from him. River often moved through the dark gray metal ducts, so there was little to no dust or dirt to adhere to any clothing.

Her hand touched slightly warm metal where there was no possible heat source. River stopped moving and listened, her reading narrowed down to a smaller area. Her head tilted as she focused in on listening to Serenity. The unknown voice was in close proximity. He was in the vents. Why would he be in the vents? Her mind spun with possibilities.

He was moving towards her at a high speed. River decided to go meet this Riddick person. His face floated up in her mind, from before and what she lifted from Simon. The goggled visage with bushy hair and large beard compared to the now bald clean shaven man was a humorous juxtaposition. He looked much better without the beard. There was an elegance to the flat plains of his scalp.

They met at an ‘L’ curve in one of the smaller passages. Not optimal for fighting barehanded. She, as a primarily right-handed fighter, had the advantage. She briefly remembered that he seemed to be like her, ambidextrous but favoring the right.

River saw Riddick’s head first. He looked like he was moving forward without looking straight ahead. She supposed it was possible that, like her, he had memorized the duct passageways and could now move blind. River saw in the dim light of the ducting that his goggle were up on his forehead.

Before she could blink, he had stopped a breath out from her arm’s reach away and turned his face upwards.

“Pools of mercury. The Goggler unmasked.” River breathed out in a quiet whisper, her head tilted. She rested her weight down from her arms to her legs. His face was a fairly even tan complexion, indicating that he had been in a winter climate while growing the hair. They eyes required study and more information. As did Riddick himself. He looked better in person, than in her mind’s eye.

“The Goggler?” He asked, his voice rolling over her ears and mind laced with amusement and perplexment.

“That’s what Captain Daddy called you before learning your name.” River moved her head to face his, her expression open but impassive.

“Name’s Riddick.”

She noted a slight fraction of a yet to be categorized facial twitch at the ‘Captain Daddy’ term. She wondered at it, staring at him, saying nothing.

“What’s your name?” He rumbled out.

“You already know. Overheard the others.” She bit out impatiently. Was he going to be boring like the others?

Riddick chuckled and shift his weight. Coming closer to lean on his outstretched elbow, he rested his hand on the duct bottom, perpendicular from the other. “You’re River. You fight good.”

“Thank you. Why are you in Serenity’s ducts?” She asked petulantly. Her chin jutted out minutely.

“Are they your ducts?” He questioned pointedly. “I like knowing all the ins and outs of the places I’m at.” He had a small satisfied touch of a smile around his eyes.

“To escape.”

His face fell into an impassive state. “Or hide.” His eyes narrowed as he spoke.

“Serenity is a majestic ship for that. Mother has many secrets.” River’s face turned upwards in a sort of thanks to the ship.

“I know,” Riddick’s eyes flashing in humor, “I’ve found a few sections that didn’t have your scent in them.” He was telling her that he acknowledged her reading his surface thoughts. He was choosing to be honest with her about the abilities he usually kept quiet about.

She frowned at him and crossed her arms for a moment before answering him. “You assume you found what the girl did not. By air movement and particulate matter distribution? Small spaces, inconsequential.”

“Never know what’s useful.”

“Why couldn’t I read your next moves?” She bit out fast, hating that she did not know and couldn’t immediately tell from his thoughts.

He tilted his head in consideration, “I wondered that myself. Figure that I let my instincts guide me. Ain’t never did me wrong.” He had a small half smirk for a moment.

“Alpha Furyan. Cheating. It was fun, however.” River went from gently chiding to a shy smile while she spoke.

He let out a soft laugh, throwing his head back. “When can we fight again?” His smile grew slightly, his eyes narrowed in focus on her.

She considered possibilities. Simon and Captain Daddy would argue strenuously against it, so she would not ask them. The fight would most likely be loud: a small soundproof room or area far from view would be ideal. Also, her methodology of using the nearby environment, such as walls and pipes, would be to her betterment in her battle strategies. Finding her plan tactically sound, she mentally nodded to herself.

“I’ll have to override the second unused shuttle, which will take an estimated four minutes.” She liked this plan. She like the idea of seeing what she could do with a clear mind. Not having to hold back. She felt ready.

“Let’s go.” River could feel the subtle excitement in Riddick’s voice. So eager to wage war. Eager to engage, to stretch beyond the confines of the mundaneness of the reality he mainly lived in.

She shot him a look that said ‘You are a boob,’ and said bitingly while gesturing in his direction, “That’s the way.”

He raised an eyebrow and had a half grin. Riddick sped backwards down the duct, turning into a four way intersection to watch her go by.

River didn’t even make a gesture, she merely made her way, sliding efficiently towards the next turn towards the duct exit near the shuttle. Her body barely made a whisper as her tunic dress brushed the metal. The pants underneath gently moved over the welded seams of the duct.

Riddick soundlessly maneuvered and follow behind, moving as fast as her but not following as close as he could have. Had she stopped and lashed out a kick, he had time to stop his own movement and duck out of the way. He noticed that she had no shoes on, just socks. That’ll make things easier, maybe.

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She dropped quietly down from the sideways vertical duct opening on to the metal grate floor. River then headed towards the secured panel containing the door controls for the secondary shuttle, her feet gently padding the floor. While its ventilation was connected to Serenity’s, the shuttle’s electronics were independent. She wasn’t completely confident as to its state. It had not been in use for seven months, sixteen days.

River didn’t auditorily perceive Riddick coming up behind her, staying a distance away leaning on a wall, just in her peripheral vision. She followed his mind, his curiosity of the shuttle. Making plans, considering strategies to combat her based on their past fight. He wondered, loudly, how he could control when he dropped into the mode where he fought mindlessly, concentrating solely on getting out of the hold, dodging the blow, moving to the next wave of attack.

He said nothing as he faced her and made no movements, other than to cross his arms at the four minute mark.

River shot him a look, “Estimated. Issues arose. Two more minutes more. Approximately.” She turned back to the panels with a slight huff. The shuttle door opened, signaling that the computer’s sound systems and alarms now completely muted, in one minute and 4 seconds.

She walked quickly into the shuttle, turned and blocked the way further into inner doorway with her hand up in a stop gesture. “Rule discussion.”

He glided in, taking large steps with his arms still crossed as his head scanned the little of the shuttle he could see. The shuttle door slid closed behind him. He liked the basic dim night lighting of Serenity, darker than standard on most ships. Even if by some small chance they were disturbed, the lights would be dim enough not to distract him with pain. Day cycle light would. This shuttle was nearly pitch black, with only a few electronic lights make star aurora patterns in his night vision. This could be real fun.

“Lights off. No weapons. No killing or serious injuries. A direct hit or a tap out is a point. Best two outta three.” Riddick stood before her with his legs spread, his knees slightly bent, and re-crossed his arms lightly. He was ready.

“Simon will be displeased with any marks.” River crossed her arms as she listed her amendment to his proposal. She hadn’t moved from her initial position in response to his movements.

He nodded his agreement. “When do they come looking?” For her, he meant.

“800 hours begins the day cycle.” She pursed her lips in consideration. That was more than 5 hours away.

“Set an alarm for 700 hours?” Riddick suggested, while he lifted his goggles.

She moved to the nearby control panel and made a light flashing alarm, where the near blackness would flash with the night cycle light strength. She turned around and faced him, her posed relaxed, her arms loose and at her sides. River let out a small sincere smile that was met by a growing smirk of his. He rolled his shoulders back and cracked his neck to one side and then the other.

She made the first move, much like she preferred to do in chess, kicking out towards his head. He made a move to try to grapple on to her leg as it passed by. As she twisted out of his grasp, he changed his footing and grip to try to get a lock on her arms. River spun out of it again and threw several rapid punches at his head and body, which he weaved and dodged. Their feet changing position with the constant adaptation, like a dance. The silence in the shuttle was only broken by the sounds of movement in the air, the thuds of one body blocking the other’s attack.

She intercepted several of his punches, maneuvering herself around him. She slid down to kick one of Riddick’s legs out, but he leapt away with a growl. He crouched, and they both moved to attack one another, her with a high kick at his head, he with a punch. Riddick modified his punch to grab at her upper leg and throw her at the wall. She twisted and landed on the corner wall next to the doorway. Instead of shooting back towards him, River went through the doorway and landed in a graceful somersault. Bounding back into an upright stance, she positioned her feet, and stretched her arms up and out, ready for his next move. She raised a eyebrow at him.

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River, Kaylee noticed, wasn’t that wiped out from that experience at the bar yesterday. She only slept till midmorning. She seemed more relaxed, with a fluid aspect to her movements as she passed by the engine room doorway. Maybe that fighting was good for her? Kaylee cursed under her breath, while she bent over the engine part she was adjusting. Those gorram Alliance! Why can’t you leave us be!

She heard her wander into the kitchen and begun scrounging for food. River didn’t like cooking much. Riddick also walked by the engine room, unsurprising since he didn’t have much to do on the boat. He was quiet as ever at breakfast. Maybe he didn’t like to talk that much? Kaylee didn’t think these two had been introduced yet. Mal had asked her first thing when she was up if Riddick was bad news or not. River had said that he wouldn’t be a danger unless attacked first. Kaylee decided to keep an ear out, just in case.

“Riddick.”

“River.” Well that was anticlimactic; Kaylee thought there might have been more drama to it. She didn’t hear any fighting, or talking past that. Just some rustling of kitchen items.

“What’s wrong with those ones?” His voice was low.

“No labels, all look the same. No way to tell.” River sounded slightly bashful about her previous destruction earlier when she had feverishly ripped all the Blue Sun labels away. That was before she slashed Jayne’s shirt and chest open, before Miranda. Before they understood her.

“Let me see ‘em.” His voice sounded confident. Maybe Riddick knew a thing or two about canned grub?

Kaylee found herself moving on to the next part of her adjustment project that occupied more of her time and attention. It was easier for her to lose herself in what she was doing. One issue flowed into another, and a fix that she’d never thought of before became obvious.

“These ones are expired.” Riddick rumbled out. Well, that’s awful kind of him to organize. Nobody really touched those unlabeled cans. Pretty awful opening a can of corn when you really wanted tomatoes.

Kaylee heard River snort, but then it sounded like more clinking and rustling so maybe she was dumping them in the waste receptacle.

“The whole line front to back is the same. This one is corn, that’s potatoes, tomatoes, and beans. Don’t mix ‘em up.” Riddick said loudly.

“Detecting faint particulate matter?” Kaylee didn’t fully understand what River meant by that. Like stuff left on the cans from when it was made? But how else would Riddick have known which can was what.

“You hungry?” He asked with a deep rumble.

Kaylee didn’t hear an answer but the next few minutes she heard noises of cooking, the light scent of heating up some protein. She wondered who was cooking. It was hard to picture Riddick crafting a meal for anyone. He didn’t seem to hold a grudge against River for the fight yesterday though: just the opposite, in fact.

“Open a potato one.” She heard him tell her. Kaylee grinned to herself. She could just see the doubt on River’s face, the raised eyebrow.

“Y’all making food? Can I have some?” Jayne asked hopefully. That man could always eat. “Hey, potatoes. I thought we were out.”

“Yes,” came River’s tense reply. There was a long period of quiet, with only the sizzling sounds of cooking foods, and then the gentle clink of plates that came with eating. Jayne let out some satisfied grumbles.

Kaylee decided it was time for a break, stretching herself. See what they were up to in the kitchen. She was delighted to see what she’d nearly imagined. Riddick, goggles on as usual, eating methodically. River sat across from him, also eating, but staring at him. She didn’t look angry, just calm. Probably reading him. Jayne, as was his custom, sat with his back to the unoccupied second shuttle and was currently shoveling food into his face.

Kaylee walked onwards towards the infirmary, where Simon would often sit and study his cortex, reading up on what he could. She passed the Captain on the way. They exchanged friendly nods.

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Riddick was sitting still, running on very little sleep but felt like he could burst out of his seat at any moment with the amount of residual adrenaline in his system from their fight last night. They had tied, both getting one of three. He was amused by their subterfuge; these folks seemed very protective and worried about her. Better to not discuss the fact that he knew the ship’s labyrinth of ducts as well as River did. Nor the fact that they had an extremely enjoyable hand to hand battle for several hours.

He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this good. This was like the after-effects of a really comprehensive workout, stretching and using long-ignored muscles. And she was so good fighting in the dark, like he was, but not because of her eyes. River, he figured, was reading what he saw, triangulating where he was in the room. She could probably fight blind, or with her eyes closed, as long as there was someone else to see for her.

The flashing alarm, the darkness lifting to a dim light, surprised him. He didn’t think there was any way they could actually continue dancing around each other that long without one of them getting two hits out of three. Part of him wanted to keep fighting, damn the consequences of the crew looking for her and then finding out about their unauthorized fight and use of the shuttle. Her brother would have popped a vein in his head from the stress, he figured.

River had stopped nearly immediately, and as he was getting used to, gesture with her hand for him to stop as well. He knew she could feel his impatient energy, his anger at being denied the chance to once more get through her defenses and win. But he tapped it down. It might have been her to get the next hit in as well.

She suggested sleep, and a later meeting publicly. He asked about fighting again, breaking the tie. She suggested tomorrow night, meeting at 300 hours. The witching hour.

River deactivated the alarm, and left the shuttle dark. They both silently made their way to their bunks. He gave her a respectful nod goodnight. She gave a small but bright smile back.

In his bunk, Riddick tightly shut the door and took off his goggles once more. The evening had gone better than he expected. This beautiful woman, who was an exceptional fighter, this person, seemed to keep her word.

He was expecting her to be like she was in the bar, lashing out at any opportunity, using any available weapons. Their first meeting in the duct really surprised him. She was incredibly intelligent, sharp, and fast. She knew what he knew so trying to downplay his abilities insulted her. He got that. Folks often underestimated him. Sometimes it worked in his favor, but it got old after a while.

But in the ducts, she hadn’t been anything but straight with him. An unspoken promise of continuing their violent exploration of each other’s abilities only under controlled circumstances. He could appreciate that. No need to involve anyone else. They were both adults, consenting to a sparring match.

She was a spitfire. Her reaction to him non-verbally calling her out on misjudging the timing to open the shuttle was pretty funny. Her agreement with his ground rules for the match was good; it was even better that she actually kept to them. Too many people had broken their promises to him. Riddick’s word meant something. His word was his bond, an oath to uphold in actions. She too seemed to understand this.

And that fight! His face actually hurt from smiling so much. Never happened in his life. Her inventive moves and the seamless flow of her attacks had him drop into the instinctual fighting mode even faster this time, taking just a few minutes. The adaptive strategy, always changing, flowing around him and almost through his movements. He couldn’t imagine a better fight.

Riddick jumped on the bed, willing himself to get up and shower in about an hour's time. He fell asleep thinking about other styles he knew that he could employ in tomorrow night’s match.

His internal mental alarm woke him up at 750 hours, time enough for a shower and to secure his goggles before entering into the daytime light cycle.

He barely spoke at breakfast as he was deep in thought, analyzing this latest fight and the first one. The environment played a great deal into how she fought. His fighting, not so much. By the latter part of the last night’s fight, he noted, his method of combating her moves had changed. Perhaps become more efficient. He sat deep in thought until he was the last one at the table, and Jayne was doing dishes. He dropped his bowl and utensils by the sink and headed back to his bunk, to the dark, to consider other possible ways to counter her.

Riddick was interested to find himself slightly pleased when she awoke. He cracked the bunk door open to hear her official read of him given to the Captain. The man did seem to have a fatherly air to him in regards to River and Kaylee.

When she headed out to the kitchen, he was game to play the role she suggested. He could tell she was impressed and at the same time irritated by his sorting of the cans. The smell of food leached through the metal, the tomato especially.

His cooking for her had raised Jayne’s eyebrows. She had watched him stir the potato and protein mixture with an impassive eye.

Once things were served up, River was the last to try a bite. Jayne had already eaten several mouthfuls and was speaking his compliments and thanks with chipmunk cheeks. She looked thoughtful as she tasted the first small bite. Then she just stared at him, like he was a puzzle she couldn’t see the outer shape of.

The Captain wandered in. “Well now, Lil ‘Tross, did you make this? Are those potatoes?” Mal looked slightly shocked, he thought those potato rations were long gone.

“He organized the cans by content.” River had finished her meal and pushed her plate towards the center of the table.

“Did he now. Solved the mystery? Awfully kind of you.” Mal turned to Riddick, who simply nodded.

“Lil ‘Tross, can I have you check my calculations to Beggar’s Tin? Things went a mite bit fast when I put them in.” Mal had no shame utilizing River’s superior piloting skills. He could do it, but it was rough.

“Affirmative.” She moved to get up from her seat, plate in hand.

“Captain, can I have your permission to see the flight deck? I have some piloting experience and I pick up things real fast”, Riddick said unexpectedly. Jayne had gotten up to take his empty plate to the sink, passing River on her way back into the main kitchen area. Both turned towards Riddick and Mal when he spoke.

“Piloting experience. Huh. What do you say, River?” Mal crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on his heels. It would be a good idea to see if Riddick could maybe, possibly, fit in with the crew and be a help. Another fighter, another pilot. A fine idea.

“It is a good idea. He has good instincts.” She spoke the first sentence to Mal, echoing his earlier thought, and turned from him to Riddick when she said the second. Echoing Riddick’s thought?

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Mal lingered by the door, leaning against the wall, one foot crossed over the other at the ankles. He saw River comfortably sit at the pilot’s chair. Riddick moved behind her seat and right above and to the side of her head. Mal crossed his arms and scowled.

River turned back towards Riddick and studied him for a minute while he scanned the pilots’ controls.

“Captain Daddy, can we dim the lights? It’ll help him see better.” River flickered her eyes to Mal, but didn’t move away from Riddick, who was now looking at her, his mouth slightly open. He looked at tad shocked at her thoughtfulness.

“See better huh? I suppose.” Mal uncrossed his feet as he spoke and moved to the wall control panel to dim the lights to the night setting.

“Door.” River made a closing motion waving her hand with an impatient look. Mal huffed and hurried to comply. He then rested next to the wall with his arms clasped behind his back, legs shoulder width apart in an unconscious parade rest.

Riddick stood up and faced them both. He moved his arms in unison up to his goggles and removed them. He smirked as he saw Mal’s startled face, his wide jaw making a comical noise as he snapped it shut.

He looked directly at River, as if to give her the opportunity to comment. With no response given, he gestured at the control panel. She turned her chair and attention to it. He resumed his hovering position, this time with a hand resting on the back of the pilot chair.

“Calculations first, please” she asked while not moving her face. He voiced no answer. He just focused on the display screen and her manipulation of it.

“We can shave off 4 hours, approximately.” Mal grunted in response.

“Show me the motions and procedure for landing.” Riddick asked, a scowl as he intently scrutinized the controls.

River mimicked each step of the landing procedure perfectly, making Mal smirk in pride. She named the stages, the concerns about the ship interacting with different atmospheres.

“Taking off?” He asked. She showed him as well, including the pilot’s extra controls.

“Whoever modded these controls did a masterful job.” Riddick said softly as his hand ghosted over the controls, fingers not near enough to touch. River felt Mal’s sharp pain of grief at the thought of Wash.

“With this one, assuming the corresponding elements in the engine room are configured, we can pull what we call a ‘Crazy Ivan’ where the ship can turn up to 180 degrees and do a full burn. Emergencies only.”

“Why’s that?” Riddick turned to her fully and stood facing her.

“Kaylee says the engine can’t take the fast movement. Loosens things.”

“Yeah, that kind of movement would create huge amounts of vibration. Probably shaking your engine’s parts so much that the screws loosen.” He paused in thought, his eyes scowling, and tilting his head to the side.

A half smile emerged on his face. “If you had several small shock absorbers attached from the engine’s weakest points to the hull or a bar that was connected to the hull, you could negate most of that. You could even make a lattice of them, to help offset the fluid motion of the hull.”

“And it would maintain airflow to the engines. The room is roughly spherical in shape, improving the fluid dynamics and creating a cumulative effect.” River realized and stated aloud, looking at him, stunned. Her eyes were wide in the dim light, the cast of the control panels painting her in vivid streaks of neon. She seemed frozen for a moment just staring at him, her eyes darting from one of his to the other.

Riddick merely stared back, his arms crossed defensively in front of him.

“We would never have thought of that solution by ourselves.” She looked vaguely amazed, Mal thought, seeing as he’d almost never seen that expression on her face.

“Would that work? How much would this put us back, time and effort wise?” Mal, ever the pragmatic one, knew his little rag tag team could only fly free with coin in their pockets.

River turned to him quickly: “Yes, the type of small shock absorbers he’s imagining are extremely common. Every settlement equipment store has them. We may even have some on board. We should consult with Kaylee.”

She moved towards the door while turning to Riddick, waited for him to lower his goggles before leaving the flight deck. He followed her out.

Which left Mal in the dim room. He gave out a startled “Hey!” and a series of grumbles. He felt he began to get the gist of what they were talking about. Riddick was similar to Kaylee in that he explained things in more layman's terms. River had a habit of getting highly technical. Over his head.

Still, if River acknowledged a new idea as good, it was. However it was that she figured out what she did, she was open to reevaluations. Mal trusted his crew to make good calls when it came to Serenity.

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Riddick caught up with River as they strolled down the hall towards the engine room. She was looking down and to the side in deep thought, her steps slow and measured. He had his head turned in her direction, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

She stopped abruptly in front of the engine room doorway. He stopped a foot away from her, looking slightly down at her. He acknowledged grudgingly to himself that if she threw a fist or foot out, he was well within striking distance. He would have found it very difficult to dodge at this range. His face and were posture guarded, though outwardly relaxed looking. His hands were open, fingers splayed, with his arms resting on his sides.

“Not upset. Epiphany. Realized you think in a different way than me. Different sort of genius.” She didn’t need to wait to see or hear his response, she could feel it. She turned and sped into the engine room.

He knew she felt it. His intense, hard to suppress feeling of vindication. All those from before, in the government homes, in the prisons, that called him all sorts of things. They underestimated him constantly. They treated him like a dumb animal and Riddick had made it work for him. That was their mistake. He knew what he was, and what he was capable of. He also knew what abilities he lacked. Making allies was sometimes the only route to survival.

He released his breath as he suddenly understood that she knew what he was and what he was capable of. He knew there’d likely be no surprises with a reader, but he wasn’t expecting this high-level of insight into his nature. He wandered slowly into the engine room, ignoring Kaylee’s excited noises of delight.

River watched him in his meanderings around the engine room. His goggled face looking up at the ceiling details.

“Kaylee, this was Riddick’s idea.” River mentioned in a conversational tone.

“Oh yeah? Golly, Riddick, I think you’re really on to something. You work on engines much?” Kaylee gushed to him her hands folded in front of her.

“Only when I need to.” He said with a smirk. He turned towards the exit with a hand up above his head in good-bye.

“He is a genius of a different sort.” River proclaimed to Kaylee.

“Wow! Really? That’s shiny.” Kaylee looked amazed and beamed at River. River smiled back and nodded. They got back to discussing possible configuration methods in the long term and how to best use the several small shock absorbers they had. Then they started discussing how to prioritize the different engine components.

River nodded her agreement to Kaylee that she would draft up a possible setup of the lattice framework. River headed back to her bunk to sketch up some options.

Neither Kaylee nor River had been there to watch the ceiling warping from the high velocity during a ‘Crazy Ivan’, so it would be difficult to calculate the extent of movement. Jayne had glanced up for a short period, but not long enough to give true parameters. But she did have Kaylee’s detailed memories of what all she had to outright replace or fix and those little things she had to tighten or recalibrate.

Simon was at a loss. His sister and Kaylee were both caught up in a grand project. River was sitting in the floor of her bunk, paper and writing utensils spread out all around her in a near circle as she bent intently over sketching out another drawing. Kaylee was slowly moving long metal pole machines and pressing a little switch that made part of the pole collapse down and up again. She sorted them based on their response time.

Seeing that she was busy, Simon heading back to the infirmary. He saw that man, Riddick, sitting in the couch nearby. He looked up as Simon walked in.

“Hey doc, can I use your cortex to look up something real quick?”

Simon felt an irrational flash of irritation. Riddick hadn’t done anything specific, but the shear unreadability of his face with those goggles on just rubbed him wrong. Still, he had been kind to River yesterday. Simon sighed slightly.

He held out the cortex agreeably. “Alright. But I’ll need it back soon.”

“No problem.” Riddick said, voice confident. He quickly made a search, made another, looked at the results, made one more and then closed it. He passed it back to Simon. “Thanks doc.” With a nod from Simon, Riddick walked in the direction of his bunk.

Simon was interested to see the search history. Riddick hadn’t even tried to erase it, not that Simon couldn’t have pulled it up anyway. Simon saw, ‘riddic’, then ‘riddick’, and finally ‘ridiculously.’ A misspelling, his name, and a word. Curious and curiouser. Was he worried about someone monitoring the searches?

Simon redid the search for Riddick’s name and saw that there were no hits of any consequence, and nothing resembling his full name or a picture. Just a few businesses listed, but with ‘Ridick’ as a random name associated with it. Simon shook his head in dismissal. He put the cortex away and went to go assist Kaylee with her latest and greatest engine modification project.

Kaylee was pleased with the manpower assistance from Simon. And he was so easy on the eyes, too. Made it nicer taking breaks. He didn’t fully grasp what she was talking about until she compared what they were trying to do with the function of the heart’s muscles surrounding those delicate valves. They pulsated and pulled, but the valves were still able to function. They sorted and stacked the tested shock absorbers. She took deliberate care in adding lubrication to the moving parts of each one.

By the time they were nearly done, River bounded with a skip, several pieces of paper fluttering in her hand. Simon, as usual, fell to the sidelines and watched his sister and his lady pour over complex engineering and mechanical details. The sketches were pawed through, pointed at, parts crossed out, others underlined, while they gleefully exclaimed to one another.

A final idea formed, something simple enough to be a base for other future adjustments, and Kaylee was directing him where to hold the first pole to begin welding, when dinner was called. Simon belatedly remembered he was a human being who required nourishment. Kaylee’s stomach gave an answering growl. He leaned the pole on the engine part, and offered to take her arm in the crook of his to escort her to dinner. She bestowed a glowing smile, her eyes shining and linked her arm through his. River aimlessly drifted after them.

It was Zoe’s night for dinner, which was typically quite tasty. Someone must have shown her the unlabeled cans, because there was an assortment of them used in her dishes. Mal helped set the table. He and Jayne were practically salivating already. Simon and Kaylee sat next to each other, across from Jayne.

River sat next to Jayne, a rare occurrence. She sat with one of her legs tucked under her on the seat. Mal and Zoe took their regular seats. Inara came gliding in, benevolent smiles for everyone. She rested in the seat next to Simon. Zoe was bringing over the final bowl of food when Riddick soundlessly entered. He took the last empty seat, between Inara and River.

Dinner was a quiet affair. Inara and Mal started snarking at one another, their verbal claws somewhat dulled compared to past dialogs. Zoe ate silently, occasionally having a small laugh or smile at Mal’s expense. He would look over to her for support, and she would just shake her head, as if to say ‘This one is all on you, Sir.’

Riddick, as the crew was getting used to, said nothing while he ate beyond a thank you to the cook. River put both feet up on the chair, hugging her legs to her chest as she drank, her dinner finished. She put the cup down with a thud and turned to Mal. “We should have him copilot when Serenity next lands planetside.”

Mal didn’t look up from his food. Instead, he took another bite, savoring the taste and considering her statement.

“Riddick can co-pilot the ship?” Zoe asked, one eyebrow quirked up. She looked at Mal expectantly. They had already argued about possibly keeping him on board. And it was hard enough for her to accept that River was the main pilot, sitting where he used to sit. When she still made soup. Her special wife soup.

“Yes, he’s memorized the controls and protocols”, River answered for Mal.

Zoe and Mal looked at the reader, and at Riddick. They both knew that if she said it, it was because she read it and she felt it to be true. Mal found it rather shocking that the man had watched her go through it once and he already had it down pat. He pursed his lips.

“His considerable arm strength will assist in the harsh weather conditions of Beggar’s Tin. Landing especially.” River put her feet down from the chair, one after another, as she continued speaking. She grabbed her fork and stacked it on her finished dinner plate.

“Huh,” was all Mal could get out for a tick. “That so.”

Riddick didn’t say anything. He didn’t preen, he didn’t do anything except continue to slowly, systematically eat his dinner. He did seem to be facing River a bit more than anyone else. His head moved when she shifted her seating position.

“We can give it a try, I suppose”, Mal allowed. His eyes flickered to Inara, who had been watching River and Riddick all dinner, when not conversing with anyone. He resolved to ask her opinion of him.

Zoe got up at this and took her dishes and some of the empty serving dishes to the sink. She then headed down to the cargo bay, feeling the urge to be away from people for a few hours. Her bunk was usually her shelter, but right now she felt like the memories there would just leave her feeling trapped. She needed some space from the pain.

Jayne grabbed a second helping of one of the side dishes, scooping more of the corn based food on his plate with a greedy, gleeful look. Simon stood up and collected his, Kaylee’s and River’s plates and utensils. Kaylee nodded gratefully. Inara followed behind him, daintily carrying her used items in one hand, her yellow wrap complimenting her skin tone. She left her things by the sink and slowly headed towards her shuttle.

Mal had been sitting in a daze until he saw Inara move off. He hurried to dump his plate in the sink, which clattered as it settled. He jogged off towards Inara’s shuttle, intent in discussing his observations with her. Jayne and Kaylee shared a small laugh at his antics. Kaylee walked back to the engine room.

Riddick got up and took his plate into the kitchen. He turned on the water and begin washing the dishes. River was still seated at the table, her arms around her bent legs again.

“Hey, it’s Mal’s turn on dishes. You ain’t got to do that”, Jayne said, closing the waste chute door. He placed his plate and fork on the counter next to the rest of the mess. He watched as Riddick just shrugged.

“Needs doing.”

Jayne shook his head at him and wandered to his bunk. He had post to answer anyway.

Riddick concentrated on the work, the flow of water, the soapy scrub brush clearing away the remains of the dinner. He smelled her, rather than heard her, come up beside him. She had a dish towel and was gently drying the clean plates. He glanced over at her, questioning. River’s face was closed off, concentrating on running the cloth over each part of every plate. She stacked the dry ones as she went.

A pleasant silence pervaded the kitchen while they worked side by side. The cups, forks, serving spoons, serving bowls all together were a large amount of dishes. Combined, they took care of them in less time than with only one person working. He was finishing up the utensils, while she was drying the last serving dish when Kaylee walked by.

“Y’all seen the captain come this way? Oh, I thought it was his night for dishes.” Kaylee was surprised. Yes, River did her night of dishes when assigned. It was another thing to see her helping someone. Even when Simon asked nicely, bribing her with apples, she would refuse. This was kinda odd behavior for her.

Riddick’s answer was the same as before, “Needed doing.” He didn’t even turn to look at her until the last part of the job was done, the sink washed out and rinsed and his hands washed. He flicked the water firmly down towards the sink basin.

“Haven’t seen him.” River said, over her shoulder.

Kaylee hovered, trying to make it look like she wasn’t snooping or nothing, but wanting to see what they would do next. She saw River hand him the dish towel for his hands after drying the last fork. He gave her a nod of thanks. River put the last of the eating utensils away and as soon as the drawer shut, she strode off towards her bunk. He watched her go, or seemed to. The goggles didn’t reveal anything. He headed in the opposite direction towards his bunk.

Kaylee didn’t know what to think. They seemed so relaxed, just doing what needed to be done, no complaints. River was a real nice girl, but she didn’t go out of her way for many folks. She decided to sit in one of the wooden kitchen chairs, resolving to discuss this with the captain as he had to pass this way.

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“I’m telling you, I’m just not sure Mal.” Inara was starting to feel tired from arguing with this bull headed man.

“You’re really telling me that a Companion, trained and all, can’t give me a beat on this fella?” His hair was in disarray as he had been running his hand through it in frustration as they spoke.

“Mal… He hasn’t looked at me like that. Not once.” Pride made this difficult for her to admit to him. Her training did cover people like this, the loyal, the devoted, the demented, or the uninterested. It was a rare thing for a Companion to deal with, especially out here in the black, near the Rim. It did not mean that he was dangerous, just an aberration.

“Truly?” Mal looked gobsmacked. “Well,” he continued, “What’s wrong with him?”

“I may just not be to his taste. But it does mean that I’m unable to gauge him as I would be able to normally. My apologies.” The last bit had an air of sarcasm from her.

Mal grunted, running his hand through his hair once again. He had concerns about his pilot and Riddick. There were no issues, no conflicts, no drama. They seemed to work together almost immediately in the flight deck.

The way she looked at him after his engineering fix idea was something he’d seen before… like when Kaylee looked at Simon after he did something she thought was especially sweet. Or Simon looking at Kaylee when you could tell he was thinking of how lucky he was that she was with him. When Wash would… no, that was too painful to remember.

“Alright then. Thank you for your time”, he said formally. Mal gave a mocking bow with a hand behind his back and took his leave. He marched back towards the flight deck, his stomping feet echoing a metallic clanging.

“Cap! Can I talk to you a moment?” Kaylee’s voice called out from the dining area.

“Sure Kaylee girl, what about?”

“Well, River. And Riddick. River and Riddick.” Kaylee was winding up to ramble, her words tumbling out fast.

“Yeah?” Mal took a seat next to her, turning the chair to straddle it. He crossed his arms and rested them on the chair back.

“I think River’s making a friend!” she rushed out. Mal raised his eyebrows.

“I mean, you should of seen ‘em Cap! They did the dishes, together. He didn’t ask her or nothing.”

Mal frowned at this, “Wasn’t it my night to do dishes?” He looked over and saw an empty sink, and a cleared counter. He could not remember the last time someone did a chore for him unasked, without him being seriously injured.

“I never saw River take to anybody like this. She was drying 'em and everything and didn’t say a peep!”

“That is a mite peculiar. Why else do you think they’re becoming friends?”

“Well, earlier when River told me Riddick’s idea to secure the engine, she told me something. She called him a genius of a different sort.” Kaylee looked very serious as she said this. In all her time knowing River and hearing her input on the variety of people they met, she had never heard anyone except Mr. Universe and herself described in such terms.

“A genius of a different sort,” Mal seemed to let the concept roll over him. “Did she say what sort?” This could be his answer to that odd look she gave him in the flight deck.

Kaylee shook her head no, her mouth a firm line.

“I see. Thank you for telling me this. I do believe you may be right. Our Little Albatross has found someone who can keep up with her brain. How about that.” Mal was rubbing his chin in thought. More and more he was leaning towards offering Riddick a place on the crew. The fact that River seemed to get along with him was like the icing on the cake.

“Now Kaylee, tell me more about this engine fix y’all are working on. How much is that going to cost?” He wanted all the details. He knew she would break down the nitty gritty need-to-know facts for him. And seeing the bright smile on her face, he could see that he’d have a hard time telling this genius mechanic no.

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Zoe was the last one to bed that night. Her time spent thinking had helped her compartmelize her strong feelings. She knew they needed a pilot, and having backup was a good idea. It just took her time to adjust. She heard murmured voices and Kaylee’s giggle from Simon and Kaylee’s shared bunk. Zoe felt happy for them, enjoying their time together.

River woke up at 255 hours. Time enough to exit her bunk and make her way to the shuttle. He was already there, leaning casually on the wall. He smirked when he saw her. She walked past him and entered the codes to unlock the shuttle. They walked in, he followed her. The doors slid shut. She faced the door to the interior of the shuttle; Riddick faced her back.

“Why’d you help me?” He meant the dishes. He was curious, and he had overheard Mal and Kaylee’s conversation. Did she consider him a friend? Did she even want that? He couldn’t remember the last time he had one, without guile and manipulation at the end.

“Why did you do them?” She whirled to face him, arms crossed, one foot angled out. Her face looked annoyed.

“Like I said, looked like they needed to be done. Mal was busy. No big deal.” Riddick was having trouble understanding what the issue was.

“Do you want to stay?” River asked, her tone intense, her voice low. He knew she meant ‘on the ship’. Was he trying to butter up Mal, get a place on crew?

“Hadn’t really decided.” He wanted to ask more, but didn’t. He wanted to know if she would like that too, for him to stay and become part of the crew. Did she want to be his actual true friend, he wanted to ask. But part of him didn’t want to hear the answers. Not yet. Just like he hadn’t considered the possibility of having a friend that didn’t need his protection. Not just an ally: an equal. He mentally shook his head free of such thoughts.

She just looked at him, reading him. When she chose to say nothing, he felt oddly grateful. He wasn’t ready to think of things like that. Impossible dreams.

“Same rules?” she asked instead, her posture relaxing. The tension from her body and face lessening breath by breath.

He grinned and nodded. “Alarm for 700?” That would give them another four hours to settle their tie. He stretched his fingers out and clenched them into fists.

“Affirmative,” she chirped out as she walked over to set the light change alarm. She stretched her arms out as she turned towards him, her body sideways but her feet facing him. One arm was out stretched and lower than the other.

Riddick felt his face crack into a smile as he moved his goggles up. He rotated his neck. This time he made the first move. Alone in the dark, the dance started anew.

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Simon woke up with the day cycle light change, as per his usual schedule. Kaylee was wrapped around him like a second blanket. He smiled down at her. He softly moved her limbs, and watched bemused as she curled in on herself, taking all the bedding with her. She would sleep a bit longer still.

He made his morning ablutions, shower, shave. The last sleeve button was being fastened as he quickly made his way out into the ship. At once, he heard something strange. He thought he heard River laughing.

Her distinct tinkling laugh of amusement. A rumbling voice spoke. No… He heard her laugh change to the deep belly laugh of the highest mirth. Simon crept closer, hidden behind the corner, to hear the conversation. How long had they been here, talking?

“You can’t possible decapitate a human that way. It would never hit with the required amount of force!” River said between gasping breaths, still laughing.

Riddick chuckled loudly, “It’s true, when you’ve broken the brake of the sled and the velocity is nearly double what it’s designed for.” Simon could hear the smile in his low voice.

Her loud laugh nearly turned into a snort, her hand muffling her peals of laughter.

Simon turned the corner to see them on the couch talking. In just what context would decapitation be amusing?

River quickly pressed her hand to her mouth, her laughter at an end. Riddick also stopped laughing. She stared at her brother.

“Good morning. How long have you two been up?” Simon tried to behave as though he didn’t hear the latter part of a very disturbing exchange. He tried to remember that while River had killed, and could kill, she was not just a killer.

“A while.” Riddick said evenly. River half smirked at him, but turned a calm smile to Simon.

“Mei-Mei, would join me in the infirmary for a moment? I would like want to check your leg bruises.” Simon did want to do that, but also to discuss what he had just witnessed.

River nodded and rolled bonelessly off the couch onto her feet. Simon noticed that her movements were less tense that normal. She seemed far more calm and relaxed. There were no new changes to her established drug regimen and there hadn’t been for over eight months.

As Simon watched her pass, he noticed that they had been drinking tea or water together. Riddick took a long sip of his as the Tam siblings headed into the infirmary. Simon closed the door shut. River hopped on the examination bed and pulled up her leggings.

Simon saw the bruises on her shins were mostly faded, a putrid green and dull yellow. No new black of blue marks. He nodded to himself in satisfaction.

“Simon, we were having fun talking.” River was calm, but inside raging. No longer your ward. No longer a lost child.

“Talking about… decapitations?” Simon asked incredulously. His eyebrows up, begging for an explanation.

“Riddick has fought many battles. We were discussing some of the more interesting wins.” River kept her hands flat on her thighs, concentrating on the feel of the fabric instead of the sharp feel of Simon’s thoughts.

“So a win was a death?” Simon wondered where Riddick had come from. What were these battles?

“Mostly, yes. It was very good to share stories.” River looked away at this.

Simon took in a sharp breath. His eyes welled with wetness, making his vision wavy at the edges. He had forgotten. How horrible a brother was he that he’d forgotten what she had been made to do at the Academy? What he had seen her do, at the other bar, and the bloody remains of those Reavers.

“I remember when the door opened. That day. We all thought we had lost you. That we had lost. That our death was waiting on the other side. But it wasn’t. The door opened and it was just you, standing covered in blood, barely breathing hard. Everyone else was dead or dying around you on the floor.” He took a big breath in.

“I remember the look in your eyes; I had to look away. I’m sorry Mei-Mei. I should know you don’t have many people to talk to about this. That you can talk to about this. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s ok Gie-Gie.” River patted his arm. She felt his remorse and his self recrimination.

“Does Riddick have any wins as big as that one?” Simon joked, trying to blink away unshed tears.

“Only against monsters. Those that only come out in the dark and those who come out with the rain.” River stated conversationally. She got up and gave her big brother a squeezing hug. He knew she loved him. He knew she wasn’t angry.

“I’m going to go now.” She said, after opening the door slightly and slipping out. She walked past the still sitting Riddick, who watched her walk past. Riddick stayed seated, swallowing the last sip of his drink. She glanced at him as she went past.

Simon opened the door and walked slowly towards him.

“I want to thank you for getting her to open up. It was outstanding to hear her laugh like that. It’s been years.” Simon felt that as much as he didn’t understand or like this violence, he saw her joy. He saw the small changes.

“She’s got some great stories. Hell of a fighter.” Riddick grinned. He relished in telling half truths. All Simon gathered from him was admiration and respect for his sister. Simon nodded and headed back to the infirmary, to continue his research work. Riddick got up to head to the kitchen, bringing the mugs with him.

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River headed down the stairs to the cargo bay, intent on gaining some solitude. Her eyes narrowed as she deftly popped off the covering to the hidden section. This was one of her favorite places to be by herself on the entire ship. She had to consider what she had been reading from people. Mal, Kaylee and now Simon had made conclusions based on the interactions they had seen between Riddick and herself.

What made helping someone with a manual task so strange? But it was more than that. Even Inara had seen the body language. Riddick didn’t incline his head, or have his lips upturned at the Companion’s charms. He didn’t glance twice as the lethal and beautiful Zoe. River felt Inara’s slight sting of rejection. She saw the theory starting to be developed in the Companion’s mind. Each shared meal Inara watched River and Riddick. She noted that he reacted to her movements. Her fidgeting in her seat usually led to Inara noticing Riddick’s occasional and subtle head shift.

Simon was at first bothered by Riddick’s interest in her, seeing more there than simple curiosity. He now felt deep relief. He now independently shared the idea that River was cultivating a friendship, finally communicating deep held and painful secrets that few others could relate to.

No one they had met could ever understand the satisfaction she felt from a well executed slice, causing the person in question to bleed out rapidly.

She had been trained for this.She knew how to efficiently incapacitate, or destroy, a human being. River took pride in how well she could do either. These skills were useful to know, and had saved them before and would likely be needed again. Being able to talk shop, as it were, fell to the damage dealers. Zoe and Mal were soldiers. They had killed to defend and they could again. But they took no joy or pride in the methods. It was a do-or-die situation.

Jayne was the closest the crew had to another killer, but he was wary of her. His death dealing was from the long end of a barrel. A timed explosion. He didn’t comprehend the feel of an up close battle ending in bloodshed. His version was usually a simple bar fight: boxing and blunt force trauma. She couldn't share this with him. He would have simply called her ‘creepifying’ and gone off to tattle to Simon that she was going off the deep end again.

But he got it. Riddick had his favorite kill spots. He told her about his most memorable kills. He listened to some of hers, asking thoughtful questions, making witty comments. He could talk in detail about why he would choose a back stab over a slit throat. He could find a way to kill with practically anything.

After he won their tie, Riddick had immediately proposed best 3 of 5. His second point of the match had been when they were battling feverishly and when he grappled and quickly maneuvered to get a pin on her leg in an inescapable lock. She had to tap out. He immediately released her. The light alarm flashed soon after. She asked if he wanted tea, since then it wouldn’t be that odd that they were up this early.

That’s when he got to talking about how he had taken out several men with just a tin tea cup. It had made her smile, thinking about the incredulous faces turning to panic as he ripped through them. The conversation had flowed from there, until she was delighted by his wit and storytelling ability as the feelings floating up from the recesses of his mind. She hadn’t been able to keep from smiling and laughed like she hadn’t in what felt like forever.

She felt so relaxed in his presence, knowing she could say absolutely anything and Riddick would never be scared of her. Of what she could do to him. He’d seen her at her arguable her worst: the trigger for rendering all opponents incapacitated, one way or another. Thankfully, the trigger for killing all opponents hadn’t been implanted yet when Simon had rescued her. Now Riddick had fought her to a standstill, bare handed, which is something that had never happened before.

So why did she feel so vulnerable? His brilliant insight about the engine modifications was something she had no glimmer of an idea that he was capable of. He hid his capacities well. Even while reading him, she wasn’t aware of feeling his mind working on something like that. He had hidden depths she didn’t have the ability to access.

It was like they were all in a large hedge maze, trying to find the exit, running into dead ends and spirals that heading inwards, doubling back. Yet part of his mind guided him to climb the hedge wall, to get on top of it all and to start running and jumping on the wall tops, moving towards the exit.

That was his gift. His trait for survival. Riddick willed himself to not give up, to move beyond the obvious and see connections. His powers of deduction were superbHis analytical mind moved in directions that hers did not. His varied life experiences crafted a deep, rich tapestry of knowledge he could draw from. He had a near eidetic memory, able to remember what he saw with the barest effort due to years of practice.

She had to admit, she was very impressed with him. And so this raised the question again, why did she help with the dishes? Riddick had still not adequately answered why he chose to do the dinner dishes in the first place. He may have been correct that there was no deeper motive other than a need to keep his hands busy. Much like how he would sometimes sharpen his already razor sharp shivs in his bunk.

Did she help him because she was pleased he was helping the crew, the people she felt were like family? River felt herself become aware that she had been nibbling on the side of her lip. She stopped and moved from her seated position to lay on her back on the floor. She gazed up.

When she asked him if he wanted to stay, it was because she had wanted him to want to stay. Here, on Serenity, where he could help. Where his vicious and violent nature could be utilized by honorable, loyal people. His thoughts on friendship and trust made her feel something she didn’t want to label. He was so alone, ostracized by those around him for so long just for being what he was and doing what he had to do.

When Kaylee brought up the idea that she had made a friend, River couldn’t deny the fact that a similar vein of thought went through her head. How could a reader, one who had little issue with taking life, be able to get close to anyone? All these people they had met in their travels, they saw her as a pretty young girl. Troubled, different. When they glimpsed just a part of the whole of her, most people ran in fear or tried to burn her as a witch.

Not him. Not Riddick. He smiled and showed her the part of him that was similar. He fought with her, now two nights in a row, for hours and she felt his unmistakable joy. His exhilaration. It bled into their day-to-day interactions. Even now, she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to read his caustic thoughts, and his suppressed impulses. He often wanted to comment on her legs, or face and how beautiful he thought she was but he always held back. He did not joke about that with her. He took her seriously.

He didn’t know what he wanted from her. River thought perhaps he was scared to imagine. What if he wanted and asked and did not receive? Once again, reality would crush him down. And what did she want? She wanted to fight him again, that much was certain. She was struck by how much she wanted to talk like they had this morning. She found him intriguing and confusing.

He looked at her after talking to Simon in the infirmary, after he overheard her described as covered in blood, and she felt his mind fixated on the image, fascinated. Trying to imagine the visual, and pleased at the idea. The look he gave her made a butterfly effect happen in her stomach.

River decided to consult the crew’s default expert on interpersonal relationships, their Companion.

With her mind set in motion, she sat up and rolled into to a crouched hunch and opened the panel. She closed it up and made her way to Inara’s shuttle, her face set in a serious expression. River made sure to knock politely, though she could read that Inara was simply reading in a state of repose, not busy at all. River took a deep breath, and tried to think of how best to articulate her questions.

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Riddick was putting together a small breakfast meal for himself when he saw River pass by. She looked perturbed. He thought back to what he heard her and her brother discussing. He once again found himself involuntarily imagining her surrounded by bodies, covered in blood. That implied a number of opponents, and a great deal of blood splatter. He could imagine it in her long hair, making it move in wet chunks as she spun. Was she shoeless, like when they fought?

He mentally shook himself free of that line of thought and concentrated on checking his food. Jayne, Riddick was starting to think, had an uncanny ability to sniff out meals. Riddick served up his own plate and moved to sit down at the kitchen table. Without even waiting to be asked, Riddick gestured with his head at the food. Jayne grinned and made a plate of his own.

“Saw you got a weight bench.” Riddick said between bites.

“Yeah,” Jayne responded, leaning back in his chair, “Why?”

Riddick nodded and said “always good to work on strength training.” Jayne slowed his chewing down and gave the goggled passenger a long look. He swallowed and looked back to his plate.

“Well, we could do some reps now, if ya want.” Jayne had cleaned his plate, as was his custom. He picked up his and Riddick’s empty dishes and deposited them in the sink, turning back to to see Riddick’s answer. Jayne usually tried to work out every other day. He hadn’t seen Riddick do much of anything for the last few.

Riddick nodded and got up to follow him down to the cargo bay corner where Jayne kept his bench and weights stacked and stored out of the way. They set up the equipment. Jayne was keen to see what Riddick could do and acted as spotter. He was soon flabbergasted. He tried to not say anything, but he let out a little astonished swear under his breath.

Riddick rapidly finished his reps, and they traded position. Jayne took some time adjusting the weights. He positioned himself on the bench and started his reps. Riddick’s goggled eyes followed along. Once he finished his set, they both did some work with the hand held weights. The silence wasn’t unfriendly, but Jayne kept looking over to Riddick. His teeth bared in a grimace as he worked out. There was a slight tension in the air, and Jayne was glad when Riddick thanked him and left the bay. Jayne felt his body relax, and he slumped a bit. Something about that man was just intimidating as hell.

As he made his way back to his bunk, Riddick wondered where River was, what she was up to. Kaylee was working on the engine modifications and had Simon providing what assistance he could. The engine door was currently closed, however, for a well deserved break. Mal and Zoe were on the flight deck talking. Jayne was still in the bay, continuing to exercise.

He shut the door to his bunk and stood there a moment, considering why he even cared what River was doing. He kept picturing her covered in blood, surrounded by her fallen enemies. Something about that image called to him, moved him. Riddick didn’t know what was so compelling about the idea of her looking like that. Post victory, after a violent battle. Against the odds, triumphant. He was sure it was as beautiful as he envisioned.

During their last fight, the second sparring match, she surprised him by agreeing to up the goal from 2 of 3 to 3 of 5. It made him wonder if she would keep moving it, if they kept tieing. Each time they fought he felt like he was getting to know her better. Her choice of strategy in a given moment was becoming like a conversation. He was starting to understand her thought patterns, in a way.

Her offer of tea was too good to pass up. He wanted to see more of her, get into her head even further. Riddick decided to chance it, and told her about the time with the tea cup. He figured it was now or later she’d be disgusted by his callous attitude towards killing. Instead, she looked charmed by his humor, and interested in the story. They shared memories. He didn’t open up to people often, and rarely if ever about this topic.

When she let out a laugh, he couldn’t help but grin back at her. He kept at it, making quips, choosing a twist end to his delivery. He loved her stories, picturing her savagely ramming a simple pen into someone’s neck. He could see it in his mind’s eye. It was an elegant method of execution with limited materials: just his style.

Hell, everything about her was his style. He had gotten her to laugh so much he started laughing too. River kept the conversation going, making the comments that led to his delivery of clarifying and, to her, hilarious dead pan lines. She seemed to really like his dark humor, the dryness of it, despite also reading him. It was like she only read some of his thoughts, so he could surprise her occasionally.

He remembered when her brother had came in, the flash of guilt on her face. So what if they were talking about when he decapitated a merc who had tried to kill him first? The funny part was how he did it. Riddick was glad he could hear the two discussing things. He was surprised that Simon genuinely came to the conclusion that it was good that River was talking about this.

Riddick was not prepared for Simon’s statements where he talked about her covered in blood. The image would not leave him. Riddick was stunned in the moment hearing about it, and afterwards as well. He watched River walk out of the infirmary and past him and he could not help put try to picture her as she had been that day. What she would have fought like, to end up coated head to foot with blood. He was confident, without needing the details, that she had fought to protect the crew of Serenity. He just wished, somehow, that he could have seen it. Fought with her.

She gave him a side glance, and had made herself scarce. And now she was still nowhere to be found, now well into the late afternoon. He rubbed a hand over his head and sat on the edge of the bed. He had been alone, off and on, for so long that he wasn’t sure what it meant that he wanted to be around her again. He enjoyed being in her presence, even when not sparring.

Riddick thought back to when she had helped him dry the dishes. It seemed like such a little action on her part, but was it something greater? Mentally, he heard River’s voice from last night ask him if he wanted to stay. He pictured her face at that moment. She looked so guarded, almost wary. He didn’t have a good answer for her. He didn’t mind the other crew. He didn’t feel strongly about anyone on the ship, good or bad, except her.

He breathed deeply, his hand running over his mouth and chin. Caring about someone always led to grief. He couldn’t protect them, and he usually caused their death. And here he was, like an idiot, starting to care about someone. Riddick did care enough about keeping her safe, in the beginning, to make sure he got to fight her again. But now?

He realized he cared what River thought. He cared enough to listen to her stories. He wanted to make her smile, make her laugh. He wanted to startle her again, like he did on the flight deck. He wanted her to look at him like she was seeing something special again. He wanted her to be happy most of all. And unlike those before, whose lives were improved with his absence, she seemed to be thriving with him in it.

Simon thanking him for talking to her, for helping her open up was not anything Riddick had experience with. He wasn’t doing anything but talking with her. The laughter they shared was just how they were together. He got her, and she got him. Riddick just wanted to know what that meant.

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Inara watched River pace back and forth along the carpeted floor of her shuttle. Earlier, River surprised her at her door asking for her help. What first started as calm tea ceremony ended up digressing into River growing frustration. She kept moving her legs at first, tilting her head while she listened. She eventually couldn’t sit still, before jumping up to this state now.

“He has a riptide in his mind, under the topflow.” She turned the other direction. “I can’t enter. He doesn’t know his own thought process. Only partial access.” River turned back again. “Random waves of thoughts emerge. He calls them instincts.” River stopped and faced Inara, face contorted with frustration. “I can’t just read him and find out.”

Inara held her hands up soothingly, her teal wrap shifting with her movement, the gauzy fabric swaying. She had asked River what Riddick thought about her, provoking her ire. River huffed and folded her arms across her chest as she turned to pace once more.

“Thank you for explaining. Are there many people who have minds like this?”

River gave her a long suffering look. “No. Some people have deep wells, but the current does not obstruct.”

“What exactly do you want to know?”

“I want to know if he’s going to stay!” River exclaimed, waving her hands up in an exasperated motion. She kept pacing, leaning forward. Her face was set back in the frustrated frown.

Inara nodded her head in thought to River’s answer. She rested her arms on one another in front of her. “What do you think of Riddick, River?”

River slowed down her steps, but continued to pace. She leaned back and made a small playful kick with her leg as she look a step. She started counting on her fingers as she spoke.

“Intelligent. Excellent fighter. Caustic wit. Dark sense of humor. Creative. Puzzling.”

Quirking her lips into a half-smile half-smirk, Inara asked: “What about physically?”

River stopped her kicking and stood up straighter as she paced back again. Her face looked relaxed as she pictured his form, as if he was standing there before her.

Inara could tell River hadn’t really considered what she thought of Riddick’s appearance. “What do you think of his shaved head? Or his face? His nose?”

River stopped moving and stood facing the shuttle’s tapestry covered wall. She tilted her head. “I like the shaved head over the hair. His face…” Her brow furrowed as she scrutinized her mental vision of him. Looking at the curve of his upper lip, to the nose bridge. She examined the planes of his cheeks and jaw, mentally rotating his face.

She suddenly had her expression drop into a blank look, her face pale before flushing with pink cheeks. River turned to Inara and stared at her with wide eyes before darting away in flurry of dark hair. River had answered her question.

As the shuttle door roughly closed, Inara’s badly concealed smirk erupted into a smile.

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River stayed in her bunk until dinner time. Kaylee had been assigned dinner this evening, and River was loathed to miss those. Everyone was seating around the kitchen table. Simon passed out the utensils. The seat left was between Riddick and Inara. River concentrated on looking at Riddick.

He had an impassive face as he watched her come in and sit. He passed her a plate. As they ate, the crew talked amongst themselves. Kaylee was happy to share her progress on the shock absorbers getting installed around the engine. She also gushed about how much Simon was helping her. Mal playfully chided her on using all their spare parts.

River ate methodically, watching the interplay between the crew. Riddick kept looking at her out of the side of his eye while he quickly ate. He raised an eyebrow up at her and mentally asked ‘Still on for 500?’ They had planned to get up early in the morning before the rest of the crew to continue their spar.

She gave him a quick look and a tiny nod as she stood up to take her plate to the sink. She strolled with her arms swinging as she walked to her bunk.

Inara fought back a smile while she watched Riddick’s head move to track River. He slowly focused back on the table. She flickered a glance to see if anyone else had noticed their actions, but it didn’t appear that anyone did. Simon and Kaylee were laughing and talking to each other. Zoe was arguing and threatening Jayne, while Mal watched and tried to intervene.

She knew that it had only been a few days for them, but Inara had her suspicions. River’s reaction earlier certainly led credence to her theory. The fact that River couldn’t completely read him must be so frustrating and strange for her. And yet, maybe it was really quite good for her. Time would tell.

Riddick also headed to bed early, something that Kaylee did notice. While heading down to bed, she remarked to Simon “I think it’s so cute how River and Riddick are spending so much time together.” She grinned at the idea of River having a true good friend finally. Maybe more.

“What do you mean?” Simon put down the clothes he was folding.

“Well their schedules are lining up. The must be getting up early to spend time together, like this morning.” Simon looked thoughtful at that. He resolved to find them first thing the next morning.

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“Kaylee!” Simon’s urgent voice woke her from her half sleep. She groggily muttered and scratched at her head.

“Please, I need your help. They’re in the shuttle!” Simon’s looked frantic and reach out to rest his hand on her arm. Kaylee’s eyes widening in confusion. She stood up and moved towards the door, with him close behind.

“What shuttle?” She turned her head around to ask. He nodded and pointed to the second shuttle. She saw that he had already gotten some tools to try and help.

Kaylee knelt by the control panel and started interacting with it. She frowned and continued pushing buttons.

“Can you get it open?” Simon stood back, but angled his head over to try and see what she was doing.

“It’s deadlocked, won’t open again for twenty or so minutes.” She shook her head back and forth in a negative. Simon turned and walked away and back again quickly. He ran both fingers through his hair, gritting his teeth while he paced.

“Can we see inside?” His voice was panicked, desperate.

Kaylee nodded, and went back to the panel. She took out a small screen with multiple wires and started attaching it to the panel. She made several button adjustments before clicking on the screen. She scowled in confusion. She quirked her lips to the side, as if to say ‘Well, let’s try something else, something crazy.’

The black screen show the shuttle’s interior main room in infrared light. The night vision effect made both River and Riddick show up in shades of green. Simon and Kaylee could see Riddick’s eyes blazing like coals while River’s eyes looked to be closed. That was when they could catch their faces on screen in the energized fight they were having.

Simon had gone to the zoo once as a young boy and seen two birds trapped in a small cage together. They flew and fought in mid air in a dizzying display. Their wings beat at each other, their claws outstretched as the caged birds leapt at one another. They fluttered and flew and slammed together as if by randomness.

It was the only image his mind could grab hold of that helped make any kind of sense of what he was now seeing. This was more skill and energy than he’d ever seen of River at the bar, before Miranda. And Riddick had a manic grin, looking like he was growling as he moved to attack her. He had to get the Captain.

Kaylee just held the screen in her hands numbly as she watched. They looked like they were trying to kill each other, except neither could seem to hit the other. Just watching River move, she dodged about as much as she lashed out hits and kicks. She’d try to grab him and divert his movement into a throw. But he’d twist out of it, or try to throw her. It was all so fast. Oh look at their feet! This was insane!

She sat, mesmerized as people came up behind her, voices clambering. Mal couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This was faster than anything he’d seen at their fight in the bar. His Lil ‘Tross was lashing out with all sorts of kicks and hits. And Riddick was grinning that big grin again, moving like an animal.

“Is there sound?” Mal asked Kaylee. She looked up, startled, and fiddled with the control panel. A static tone came on and then faded. All they heard were the sounds of the fight. The air, the landings on the metal grate, the breathing. Riddick’s low growl came through as he threw her at a nearby wall. She came right back at him and started grappling him, trying to grab a hold. He twisted away and threw a punch at her head, which she cleanly dodged. The fight just went on, beyond all reason.

Even Inara had been informed of the emergency. She came up to stand near Mal and gasped when she saw the screen.

“Kaylee, can we check how long they’ve been in there?” Mal asked thoughtfully. Had they been in there all night? What the gorram hell was going on?

“Sure Cap, let me check the logs.” She handed the screen to Zoe, who was watching blank faced. Jayne was excitedly hooting and pointing at especially impressive moves the two duelers performed. Kaylee made a long point of checking and double checking the logs.

She looked up, “Uh, Captain? Says here the shuttle’s been in use for 9 hours.” She looked down again and frowned, “Over the last three nights, but spread out like.” Mal moved to her side to see the screen. She pointed at the date time stamps.

“Wait, are you saying Riddick and my mei-mei have been locked in the shuttle before? Since the day he came on board?” Simon looked upset, his face gaining a faint reddish cast. Kaylee solemnly nodded yes.

“And I bet that this was what they were doing those nights too.” Mal said as he folded his arms.

“Hey, look.” Jayne pointed at the screen. River had one leg wrapped around Riddick’s neck, and trapped his arms behind him on the floor. He tapped his foot on the grate. She immediately released him and popped up to her feet, grinning at him.

Riddick rubbed his neck and smiled back. “We’re tied again, 2 to 2.” River beamed at him. The night vision flashed out, and back again creating a distorting flash of bright green. The effect dimmed to show the two on screen again, continuing to look at each other, smiling.

Kaylee switched the video settings to normal, and they saw a sort of strobe effect, with the dim light of the night cycle intermixing with the pitch blackness. The continued to face each other and began speaking once more. Mal leaned into the speaker to hear more clearly.

“Meet at 400 hours tomorrow?” River asked, her tone hopeful and relaxed.

“Sounds good. Same rules?” Riddick’s voice sounded thoughtful.

“No lights, no killing or maiming, and no marks. A direct hit or a tap out counts as a point. Best 3 out of 5.” River spoke the rules out loud again. He tilted his head at her, curious as to why she was repeating information they both knew. Then he realized, and looked up at the camera, his eyes furious at the intrusion.

“They watching us now?” He asked, looking away from the camera, back to her. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes. So he knew she was a Reader.

River nodded yes. His body relaxed as he looked towards her. She walked to the shuttle’s hallway and out of the camera’s frame. The lights stabilized to the dim, nighttime light in the shuttle. Riddick walked out of frame as well.

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Riddick moved to stand next to her, his arms crossed in front of his chest. She hadn’t triggered the door to open yet. She had her hand on the panel button but waited for him to be ready.

“I ain’t giving this up.” Riddick rumbled out, catching her unprepared. His mind had meant vague when he referred to ‘this’. River reached out her other hand and for the first time since they had met, gently touched the side of his arm. They had never touched except while fighting. He reacted like she had given him a shock of static electricity. His head whipped towards her.

She had felt it too, but kept her hand on his arm, touching the skin below his black shirt. River gave a small squeeze. She looked up at him again, and saw his face relax. She released his arm and turned towards the door. She pushed the button and composed herself.

The first thing she noticed was that the two people who were most upset were also trying very hard to control themselves. Mal was clenching his jaw, the muscle bulging outwards. Simon was holding hands with Kaylee, his neck the only thing betraying his extreme emotional state. River did not expect what happened next.

“That was crazy!” Jayne took a lurching step forward. “Y’all are even faster than when you fought at the bar!” Jayne let out a series of exclamations of astonishment.

“Do you usually fight this long and this aggressively?” Simon’s professional voice rang out.

Riddick turned to look at River. She looked at him while she spoke, “This was one of the shorter matches. We’ve gotten better at fighting each time we’ve sparred.”

“Better?” Simon croaked out, his voice sounding strangled.

“Faster reaction times. More control. Better strategies.” Riddick said in answer, his voice confidently booming out. He moved his head to scan the faces of the crew as he spoke.

River had a introspective look, and her face broke into a smile. “So much fun” she said as she turned to face Riddick again. His defiant stance towards the group changing as he turned to smirk at her.

Mal awkwardly shifted his weight from foot to foot while he scratched his neck aimlessly with his hand. This was not how he prefered a morning to go.

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Kaylee was a bit antsy. She had joined Inara in her shuttle for morning tea after being kindly offered. It wasn’t her favorite thing, but Inara was so nice. She had offered her company once it became obvious that Simon and River were due for a long talk. He was in that state where he just couldn’t listen, and frankly he could be a gorram stubborn fool.

It didn’t help that she, and Inara and even the captain didn’t see the problem. They were both adults, and no one got hurt. The Captain did have a point that River should have at least told someone about it, in case there was an emergency. But Kaylee kinda understood. It was why she didn’t shout from the top of her lungs that Simon had agreed to be her fella. It was their private time. Though with fighting.

Mal had seemed to really calm down when he had gotten that River and Riddick’s matches were helping them be better fighters. He had seen it with his own eyes, after all. And now he knew why they seemed to immediately work together well.

In the hallway outside of the shuttle, Riddick was patiently suffering through Jayne’s excited questions.

“Nah, we haven’t used weapons yet. Been thinking of some sticks to start.” Riddick rumbled out.

“Sticks? What’s that good for?” Jayne’s exuberance died down in confusion.

“Good practice for dueling with knives.” Riddick said with a biting grin. Jayne turned away with consideration.

“Do we need to be worried?” Zoe cut in, impatient.

“Nah. I couldn’t hurt her if I tried.” Riddick rotated towards her, arms crossed in front of him defensively.

“Are you sure about that?” Zoe said, staring for a moment before walking off.

Riddick’s face went blank. He moved towards the seating area near the infirmary, slowly. He knew he could overhear the conversation between River and her brother from there. He tried to not think about how Zoe’s comment both pinpointed his deepest fears, and also exploited a train of thought he hadn’t even considered.

The Tam’s argued bitterly in the infirmary. The blinds were drawn shut, the door firmly closed. Still, he heard them. Simon had notes of fear, unease and suspicion coloring his tone. River was calm, but Riddick heard her subtle notes of frustration.

“Mei-mei, you could have been killed!” Simon finally got to the heart of the matter, the real kernel of his concern.

River reacted with a savage side look, “Reader!” she said while gesturing to her head.

“He looked like he was trying to kill you!” Simon tried again, desperate to get through to her that what she had been doing was dangerous.

“He carries the fury of a dead world”, she said seriously.

Simon rolled his eyes up and around, leaning back in a deep incredulous sigh.

“Come on,” she said as she opened the infirmary door, showing Riddick sitting on the end of the couch he seemed comfortable with. He looked a little ruffled.

“Here, show him.” River said as she reached for his shirt. Riddick stood up, and kept in one place as she grabbed his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, exposing the burned handprint on his chest. She let go, letting the shirt drape over his other shoulder. Riddick stared down at her, his face shocked. She looked up at him, ignoring the goggles, straight into his eyes, pleading.

He grimaced and turned his head to Simon. Riddick gave out a guttural noise, and Simon was astonied to see the hand print start to change color. It changed from a reddish brown scar to a more purple brown, then a blue glow. The blue light grew stronger and Simon was shocked to see it start to really stand out against the skin.

River moved to stand in front of Riddick, blocking the glow. He did not seem to mind her close proximity.

“What… what is that?” Simon looked perplexed.

“River, do you know what this is,” Riddick bent his head down and pointed at the mark on his chest, “What this means?” She turned to face him, standing close enough to rest her hand directly on the hand print if she chose.

“It is your guide.” River stood straight, her eyes seeing through him. “This mark carries the anger of an entire race.” She echoed words Riddick had heard Shirah state before.

Her face flickered back to him, “It is a great gift and a burden.”

He nodded his acceptance. That sounded about right. And just like Shirah.

“Race?” Simon’s professional interest was piqued.

River stared at Riddick as he fixed his black shirt over his head and torso. He gave a small nod yes and she directed Simon back into the infirmary. Riddick followed them in and shut the door. River could feel Riddick’s trust, that she wouldn’t speak of things Simon had no involvement in.

River stated: “the planet later called Furya was settled by humans. Over time, a mutation rose and a new race emerged, Furyans.”

“A prophecy of a Furyan male killing an important man led to their annihilation. He is one of the last of his race”, River continued, gesturing towards Riddick.

“And I was the one who got the guy too.” Riddick said with a grin.

“I’ve never heard of any of this. Where is the planet located?” Simon looked fascinated.

Riddick shrugged. “Out past the Rim, somewhere. Asked for a ride there, got dumped on some other planet.”

“What sort of mutation exactly?”

Riddick and River exchanged looks. He raised an eyebrow at her. She turned to Simon and pointed at Riddick’s goggles.

Simon cautiously asked, “Can I take a better look at those?” He had barely gotten a look at them via the infrared camera view. Those eyes had looked bright green in the infrared. He hadn’t seen or heard of anything like this.

Riddick looked impassive at the idea, and looked over at River. She brushed past him as she walked over to the lights.

Once they were safely off, he raised his goggles slowly. He never liked showing his eyes to doctor types; they always had a million questions.

Simon looked like a kid in a candy store, his eyes wide, his hands already gesturing around.

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There were some questions that neither Riddick nor River had the ability to answer. There were questions still that neither one wanted to answer, knowing it wasn’t Simon’s business. Or worse still, answering would lead to more questions from the highly curious doctor.

“So ultimately, other than the eye effect, you have an ability to channel your pent up rage to fight more effectively? And the side effect is that you look absolutely murderous, even while sparring?” Simon was seated on a stool now, his hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he summarized the conversation.

Riddick nodded, his eyes narrowed in a scowl.

“And River, you can only read his surface thoughts? Doesn’t that scare you?”

River was seated on the right hand infirmary chair, looking far more comfortable in the dim light. She tilted her head and said “It ebbs and flows. I have no fear, because I know he wants to fight again.” She turned and gave Riddick a small smile.

He grinned back, “She’s right doc. Best sparring partner I’ve ever had. And I don’t think I could seriously get a hit on her even if I wanted to.”

Simon just made an unintelligible noise, and lapsed into contemplative silence. River gathered from his thoughts that he felt done with his questions, and that he now had much to contemplate. She stood up, walked over and gave Simon a hug.

He looked momentarily shocked, but then quickly returned the hug to his sister. He gave her a weak smile that seemed to say ‘I’m not totally on board with this, but I will be. I trust you.’

She moved towards the door, pausing to see that Riddick had replaced his goggles, before flicking the infirmary lights back on and heading out the door. Riddick moved to follow her.

Once outside in the seating area, River grabbed Riddick’s hand and started walking towards her bunk. At first, he looked down in slight shock at her hand holding his wrist. He almost wanted to twist it out of her grasp, much like he had done numerous times in their fights. Instead his curiosity won out. He sped up to match her speed, his arm limp in her grasp.

They didn’t pass any of the other crew, and part of him was pleased they wouldn’t have to explain. Another part of him kept solely focused on the feel of her hand over his to the exclusion of all else. Her hand grip and position, the texture of her skin. He could feel small calluses on her palms and on her fingers. He could feel her pulse, steady as usual.

She led him into her bunk, and gestured for him to sit on the bed. His goggles hid his eyes scanning over the few possessions she had out and displayed on her bunk’s walls. From her perspective, his head barely moved around as he sat.

River closed her bunk door and secured it, a noise that made Riddick turn sharply to her. She also adjusted the light level with the nearby control panel, setting it to the night setting. He watched her as she gracefully walked over to the bed and sat down cross legged in front of him. Riddick waiting for her to speak.

“Shirah was a guide. Unlikely to be seen again. Racial memory artifact, dormant for most.”

“Thought she was a hallucination till she changed these.” he said, as he raised his goggles up. He looked at her, his eyes wondering.

“I don’t know any more than that.” River looked apologetic. She could feel how it meant to him, finding out that he was not just an abandoned baby found discarded in the trash, but a survivor. He was the answer to a prophecy, the answer to a entire planet’s revenge. His personal history still remained shrouded in mystery.

He stared at her for a few moments, memorizing her face and dark eyes, her dark hair flowing down and around her shoulders. He trusted her, he realized with a start. He knew she wouldn’t hold back information from him. And he would treat her the same.

“You didn’t tell him the rest.” Riddick’s voice was lower and quieter than normal.

River shook her head no, her hair moving messily with her head motion. She felt his happiness at that fact. “If Simon knew about your enhanced senses and abilities, both you and I would go through much testing.” For after all, what had the Academy done to make her the physical equal to an Alpha Furyan? She sighed, and rolled her eyes, bored at the very idea of more tests. More questions and conjecture, making no tangible difference.

Riddick seemed keen to change the subject from himself to anything else. He took his time scanning the different items around her room. The discarded scarfs from Inara, the dresses picked out by Simon. The pants she had gotten while shopping with Kaylee. His eyes found the small section of weapon handles poking out of a small chest. He moved to go examine them.

He lifted the lid all the way to expose several bladed weapons, but no guns. Some of the blades were wrapped in cloth. He squatted down to better handle them. He unwrapped a few long swords, long knives, and some short ones. In interest, he found what looked like a hand axe, the handle discolored with what looked like old blood, the texture rough and near splintering. He hefted it and swung it before grunting in satisfaction.

“You could wrap this with strips of leather and have a pretty good axe here.” He looked up at River after he spoke, his hand holding the axe.

She looked far away, as she gazed at the axe in Riddick’s hand.

“This from the the fight Simon mentioned? ‘The ones that don’t rest’?” That was their code for Reavers. She didn’t even like to say the word.

She nodded, “and that sword too.” River pointed to a medium length sword still wrapped in a reddish cloth in the box, further down. He took it out slowly. As he unwrapped the cloth from its length he could see the small grooves etched along it.

“I wasn’t really covered in blood, just some splatter. There were only 27 opponents.” She sounded shy. She had felt his fascination with the image, but had to clarify for him. He nodded his understanding. He stood up with the sword in hand and gave it a few swings.

“The balance isn’t great. The serrated edge is a nice touch though.”

“I agree. It was the first decent weapon I could get a hold of at the time. Before the axe.” He looked down at her, frowning. His eyes narrowed.

“You went in bare handed?” He asked, seeming angry on her behalf. That changed his whole narrative of the event. He felt that she must have been cheated out of a weapon.

“They needed them for defense. I didn't. I know how to go in and find a weapon. It was part of the training.” River wasn’t defensive in her speech, just completely open and honest.

He rewrapped the notched sword, placing it back in the chest and started placing the others he’d examined back inside. He left out a few shorter swords, and two of the longer knives.

She watched him intently. She had felt his interest in including weaponry in their fights, starting with wooden substitutes. Without conscious awareness, River got up and sat next to him on the floor, facing the weapons arranged on the ground.

“Been thinking of adding to our matches. Start with non-lethal, then move up to things like this.” Riddick gestured with a hand to the assortment on the ground. He had kept the hand axe out. He turned to face her, wanting her input. Would the crew, Simon and the Captain especially, let them?

He was kneeling and she was sitting with her legs curled up to her chest. She moved forward to mirror his position and rest her weight on her knees as well. She grabbed his left hand with her own, looking at him intently.

“You trust me.” She said, and he nodded yes.

“You aren’t afraid of me,” she said in a questioning tone. He nodded yes again, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

She looked down at Riddick’s hand clasped in hers. She turned his hand around, palm up and cradled it. She used her other hand to spread the fingers out, and started tracing the lines with her fingers. River’s head was bent over it, looking at what she was feeling, touching the rough calluses.

Riddick bent over as well, to see what she was doing and to try and figure out why exactly she was doing it. He didn’t see anything of note, just his hand being held by a beautiful woman.

River raised her head up as she read his thought. He hadn’t meant to broadcast, didn’t want to offend her. He knew he was a brutish, rough sort of man. She was looking at his face, but not his eyes. She stared at his mouth. She looked up to his eyes and leaned in.

Her forehead touched his. He felt like he couldn’t breathe for a moment. She made no other moves, just letting her head rest against his, below the goggles. He could see the top of her nose, and her lips beyond.

Riddick remembered when he took pains to make sure she was more than a striking distance away. To be casually touched like this by her, it was like time had stopped. He slowly reached out a hand to cup her head, his fingers splayed against her throat. He could hear her heart beating loudly.

River reached her hand up to hold his head behind the ear, the pads of her fingers brushing over the faint stubble. His scalp had a distinct feel. Her face felt hot. She could read his mind’s confusion and elation.

He used his free hand to remove his goggles from his head, and pulled then down around his neck. Riddick moved his hand further along her neck into her hair, burying his fingers. He surprised her by rubbing his check against hers.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. His hand moved gently in her hair, his fingertips caressing her scalp. She nuzzled him back. She had a large smile on her face.

As quickly as he had begun, he pulled his head away and stared at her intently. She slowly opened her eyes. Their hands were still holding one another’s heads.

“You trust me” his voice was low and gravelly. She gave a slight nod, her smile replaced by a serious expression.

“You ain’t scared of me, though you can’t always read me?” She nodded again, more firmly this time.

“You want to be my friend?”

River shook her head no this time.

“I want more us to be more than that.” She stroked her hand down his jaw towards his chin. She looked at his surprised mouth and looked up at his wide eyes.

“I’m not a nice man” he said, narrowing his eyes at her, looking fierce. He relaxed his hand and pulled it out from her dark hair.

“And I’m not nice either.” She kept her hand on Riddick’s cheek.

“Why?” His voice came out more strangled than he thought it would. Why would someone like her want anything to do with him?

“Because you’re the only man in the Verse that can keep up.”


End file.
